


Shadow In The Valley Of Death

by Evie_adams273



Series: Shadow [1]
Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Cursed Child AU, F/M, Gen, Harry is a dick, I'm Sorry, M/M, Pain, Scorbus get kidnapped, Scorbus really suffer, Suffering, There's an OC, This will have a sequel, Torture, You will probably get angry with me over this, and then I turn to Albus, castle - Freeform, hope you like it, kidnap, lots of people die, parenting gets better, quite proud of this, scorpius gets tortured more than i should do before the main event, the dark reality, the library scene, well maybe a castle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2020-12-23 17:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 58,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21085391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evie_adams273/pseuds/Evie_adams273
Summary: Albus meets Scorpius in the library, and the world falls apart around them. Harry Potter, the great hero, interrupts them, and then reality shatters.Too many mistakes later, the two of them find themselves in Delphi's grasp, and unable to stop her from harming anyone.And fighting back proves harder than expected, for everyone.





	1. Do You Believe That You're Right?

**Author's Note:**

> So, just a basic warning, I want to put an overall trigger warning on this as most of the chapters contain either graphic violence or mentions of mental health related - things.  
So just a general warning as a starter.  
I hope you enjoy this, because it started as a little idea on a bridge as I cycled, and grew into this huge flaming thing. I don't know what this will be.

“Maybe the black cloud Bane saw was Albus’ loneliness,” Draco suggested quietly. “His _pain_. His _hatred_. Do not lose the boy. You will regret it. And so will he. Because he needs you _and _Scorpius.”

Harry started to speak again, but then he stopped, taking a moment to consider the words. He realised that Draco could be correct, but he could never fully trust Draco, even now. Considering their history, he didn’t think this unreasonable, and right now he didn’t trust Draco. There were a hundred threats coming from a thousand places, and how was he to know that Draco wasn’t involved?

“I can’t let him get hurt,” he murmured, not looking at Draco. “I’m sorry, Draco. But I have to put Albus’ safety first.”

He stood up, walking to the fireplace and picking up the Floo Powder. Something about the conversation was bothering him, planting ideas in his mind. There was a strange thought that Albus might not even be safe within the walls of Hogwarts. Given Professor McGonagall’s anger at the entire concept of keeping his son safe, he wasn’t entirely sure that he could trust her to keep Scorpius away from Albus.

“Where are you going, Potter?” Draco demanded.

“To keep Albus safe,” Harry looked at him icily. “I am sorry if Scorpius is upset, but I have to put Albus first.”

“And when Albus undermines you anyway?”

“That will not happen. He respects me.”

He stepped into the fire, meeting Ginny’s eyes as he was about to throw the powder down. She frowned and he shook his head, taking off his glasses and placing them in his pocket.

“Professor McGonagall’s office.”

The spinning took over and he kept as still as he could as he spun through the network, getting closer and closer to his destination. He sincerely detested Floo travel, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make to keep his family safe. His family always came first. Even if they didn’t want the safety he was offering. They would always have it.

He stood up as he slid across the carpet in Professor McGonagall’s office, wiping the soot away from his suit as he stood up. She looked up from her desk, and he offered her a smile. She did not return it.

“Potter,” she said icily.

“Professor,” he replied curtly.

“I cannot do this,” McGonagall said calmly. “Whatever you threaten, I cannot interfere with friendships in this manner.”

Harry opened his mouth to reply when Ginny and Draco shot out of the fireplace. Draco stood, obviously beyond angry.

“What are you doing, Potter?” he demanded.

“I am keeping my son safe,” Harry said coldly. “Minerva, please could I have the map.”

“To do what with?”

“To make sure that my son is not in danger,” Harry snapped. “Why is this such a difficult concept for everybody to grasp?”

“Harry,” Ginny cut in softly. “You cannot honestly believe that you are doing the right thing. Draco is right. We need to talk to Albus.”

“Fine,” Harry said. “But not with Scorpius around. The map, please.”

Professor McGonagall sighed and passed it to him. He set it out immediately, opening it and searching for his son. Anger swelled in his chest as he spotted, somewhat predictably, his son with Scorpius Malfoy. In the library.

He turned on his heel and walked towards the office door, ignoring Draco’s angry cries from behind him. They were unimportant. The only important thing was getting to his son and getting him out of danger as quickly as possible.

It did not matter whether he had support in the matter or not. If he was alone, he still had the power and authority that he needed to do if he wanted to do what was best. Because it was what was best. Even if those around him couldn’t see it, it was what was best.

* * *

Albus had to admit to himself it was partially his fault that he was talking to Scorpius. He had come to the library, knowing full well that he was supposed to be in the Common Room (though who was checking anymore?), being fairly sure that Scorpius would be there. In general, it had just been a bad idea. But he had still gone, he had still sat in the library. And now Scorpius was trying to talk to him. And he almost wanted nothing more than for it to stop.

He had tried to push him away again, still not able to explain why he wouldn’t talk. It killed him. It killed him to know that he had to push his best friend, his only friend, away in this manner, but he continued doing it. Because he was scared. He was scared of his dad, of what the oh-so-great Harry Potter would do if he was angry.

“Fine,” he muttered, trying not to attract any attention and get out of the conversation as quickly as possible, “let’s go back – fix things. Get Cedric _and _Rose back.” “…is the wrong answer.”

“You’ve still got the Time-Turner, right?” Albus hissed. “No one found it?”

“Yes,” Scorpius nodded, taking it out, “but…”

Albus didn’t wait, reaching to snatch it away. Once he had it, he slipped it into his pocket. He needed to get out of there, work out how to solve the problem, and then solve it as quickly as possible. He wanted Scorpius to be there, but that wasn’t really an option anymore. He had to make the best of it and sort it, with or without Scorpius. And Scorpius didn’t seem willing to try anyway, so the least he could do, in Albus’ mind, was let Albus try.

“No, don’t,” Scorpius said sharply, standing up quickly. “Albus, don’t you understand how bad things could get?”

“Things need fixing, Scorpius,” Albus snapped, moving away with the Time-Turner. “Cedric still needs saving. Rose needs bringing back. We’ll be more careful. Whatever Croaker says, trust me, trust us! We’ll get it right this time.”

“No. We won’t,” Scorpius insisted. “We’re not good at this stuff. We’ll get it wrong.”

“Who’s saying that we’ll get it wrong?”

“_I _say. Because that’s _what we do_. We mess things up. We lose. We’re losers. True and total losers. Haven’t you realised that yet?”

“Well, I wasn’t a loser before I met you.”

The words slipped out before he could stop them, but Albus didn’t apologise. He needed to be honest, to the both of them. If he didn’t filter it, then his words reflected how he felt. It didn’t seem to matter that he’d rather have Scorpius’ friendship than any form of popularity. It didn’t seem to matter that he’d rather take the bullies every single day to keep Scorpius safe.

Because what did any of that matter when Scorpius wouldn’t see sense? When the more logical of the two of them couldn’t see that they had to do something, had to try again. He had other options to get help. He could even do it alone. He wanted Scorpius there, but if Scorpius refused to see sense, he would have to go alone.

Scorpius was still speaking. Albus looked at him properly, attempting to not shy away.

“Albus, whatever you’ve got to prove to your dad–” “I don’t have anything to prove to my dad,” Albus snapped. “I’ve got to save Cedric, to save Rose. And maybe, without you holding me back, I could make a proper go of it.”

Scorpius’ face broke slightly and Albus stayed still as he noticed tears pooling in his eyes. It was stupid. The entire argument was stupid. Scorpius didn’t understand. Scorpius had his own issues, Albus understood that. But currently he had his own shit to work through and he just needed Scorpius to understand that.

“Without me?” Scorpius spat. “Oh poor Albus Potter. With his chip on shoulder. Oh. Poor Albus Potter. So – so sad.”

“What are you saying?”

“Try my life!” Scorpius screamed. “People look at you because your dad is Harry Potter – he’s the saviour of the wizarding world. People look at me, because they think my dad is Voldemort – _Voldemort_!” “Don’t even–” “Can you even slightly imagine _what _that’s like?” Scorpius shouted. “Have you even ever tried? No. Because you can’t see beyond the end of your nose – beyond the end of this _stupid thing with your dad_! He will always be Harry Potter, you do know that, right? And you will always be his son. And I know it’s hard. And the other kids are awful. But you have to learn to be okay with it, because there are worse things.”

He almost screamed the last words and Albus remained silent, stunned. He had never imagined that Scorpius could ever shout like that, would ever shout like that, at anyone. He had never imagined that there could be that much pain and anger built up inside him. But there was, and it didn’t seem to be over.

“There was a moment I was excited,” Scorpius continued more quietly. “When I realised time was different. A moment where I thought, maybe my mum hadn’t gotten sick. Maybe my mum wasn’t _dead_. But no, turns out she is. And I am still the child of Voldemort, without a mother! Giving _sympathy _to the boy who doesn’t _ever _give anything back! So I’m sorry if I ruined your life, because I tell you, you wouldn’t have a chance of ruining mine. It was already ruined! You just didn’t make it better. Because you are a terrible, the most terrible friend.”

Albus didn’t say anything, trying to fully digest what Scorpius had just screamed at him. Scorpius hated him. Scorpius hated him because he was a bad friend. A terrible friend. And he couldn’t even deny it. He understood that he was a bad friend. He had always known it, somewhere, but he had never been brave enough to face up to it, to _talk _about it.

He opened his mouth to say something, to apologise in some way, when Scorpius shook his head.

“Forget it,” he muttered. “Keep the bloody Time-Turner. Just – just leave me alone. This was a mistake.”

“Wait, Scorpius–”

“Not now!” Scorpius shouted. “Not now, Albus. Surely you can wait a bit longer. A month of this didn’t seem to last that long to you.”

“I hated it,” Albus insisted. “Scorpius, please, I hated every moment of it. I didn’t want this. I’m sorry.”

“I know. Delphi said. She also said that we ‘belong together’. I don’t know whether she meant it. Right now, I don’t care.”

“I’m sorry.”

Silence. Scorpius stopped turning away, glancing at him. Albus swallowed as he saw the tear tracks on his cheeks. He wanted nothing more than to pull his friend into a hug and apologise over and over. He’d fucked up. He knew that. And he needed to make it right.

“Look, Scorpius, I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry – about all of this. I didn’t understand. Please, just – know that I’m sorry.”

“Why?” Scorpius muttered. “Why haven’t you talked to me for weeks?”

“I wanted to,” Albus said. “I promise I did. It’s just–”

He didn’t manage to finish his sentence. The library doors flew open and he turned around, his blood running cold as his father stormed towards him. Fire was quite literally flying from his ears. Behind him, he heard Scorpius move, scrambling away. Albus himself couldn’t. He wouldn’t cower. He wouldn’t allow himself to be scared by the monster who had caused them both so much pain.

Harry seized Albus’ wrist as he reached him and Albus pulled himself free, glaring at his father.

“Albus! What do you think you’re doing?” Harry snarled. “You know what I said about that boy.”

“No,” Albus shook his head. “I’m afraid I didn’t hear it through all the bullshit you were talking.”

“How dare you! Come with me.”

“No,” Albus said calmly. “I’m not going to let you bully me because you think you know best. You don’t know best.”

“I am your father–”

“You are a crap excuse for one,” Albus muttered. “If you can think, in any way at all, that Scorpius could possess the willingness to hurt _anything_, you are insane.”

“You do not know what I know.” “And what has your department found in their search through historical sources written by people with shitty prejudices?”

Harry didn’t respond, seizing Albus’ wrist again and pulling him towards the library doors. Albus fought against him, but he wasn’t particularly strong.

“You disobeyed me,” Harry said angrily. “I told you what I would do if you disobeyed me–”

“It can’t be legal!” Albus snapped. “You can’t make me stay away from him because you can’t get over yourself.”

“I am keeping you safe–”

“This isn’t keeping me safe!” Albus screeched.

“Be quiet.”

“Sir?”

Albus looked around to see that Scorpius had emerged from where he had been hiding behind the bookcase. Harry stopped, staring coolly at Scorpius, and Albus bit his lip as Scorpius took a breath. If this went wrong, they would never see each other again. That much was clear.

“Malfoy.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Scorpius said quietly. “I came to find him.”

“You came to find him. Why?”

“Because I wanted to talk to him. Because I wanted to know why he won’t talk to me.”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake,” Albus snapped. “He thinks the rumours are true because he’s an arsehole who can’t see beyond the end of his own bloody nose.”

“He thinks they’re true?” Scorpius faltered.

“Stay away from my son,” Harry snarled. “You hear me, Malfoy? You stay away from my son.”

Scorpius didn’t respond and Harry took the opportunity to force Albus out of the library. Albus started to scream, fighting like a wild-cat to get away from his father. It did very little and Harry dragged him out of the library, kicking and screaming and fighting to get back to Scorpius.

He did not stop thrashing around all the way up to the Gryffindor Tower, and when Harry finally pushed him through the portrait hole and let go of him, he moved as quickly as he could to something, anything, that he could throw.

“Don’t be stupid, Albus,” Harry said calmly.

“Fuck you!” Albus screamed. “I fucking hate you! You don’t care! You never look at what actually happened! He is the kindest, most understanding person I have ever met and you hate him because you had a pathetic rivalry with his dad. Why can’t you see beyond the edge of your own fucking nose and care about other people? This isn’t keeping me safe. This is doing no good for anyone. Except maybe your huge fucking ego.”

Harry didn’t respond, looking on in shock at his son. Albus glared at him and turned around, walking away. He knew that any chance they had of getting back and fixing things was long gone. Because he couldn’t just admit when he was wrong. Because he had pushed Scorpius to the point where he had quite literally exploded.

He knew that he wouldn’t be allowed back out of the Common Room before the next morning at the very earliest. And it was likely to be later. He needed to apologise to Scorpius, and he wanted to, with every fibre of his being. But he couldn’t now. Because his father seemed to think that controlling him was a good method of parenting.

He screamed again, slamming his palm into his bedframe as he swore again. He was so sick of putting up with it. He didn’t want to go back without Scorpius, but maybe that was what this needed. Maybe this entire situation needed to be completely dismantled and rebuilt. Maybe that would fix things.

He just needed to work out how he would get out of the tower.

He went to sit on his bed, and then he looked up. A small black bird, Delphi’s method for delivering post, was perched on the window, and Albus smiled to himself. It was almost as if she knew. As if she knew that her presence was needed.

Originally, Albus had seen the logic in asking her not to come. They would have been caught. She would have been a liability. But now, now he needed her. He needed her to get him out, because she would be able to.

She seemed to know a thousand little secrets about the castle that Albus couldn’t even begin to imagine. So far, he hadn’t questioned it. And if she could get him out of the castle without detection, he would never question it.

She would help him. She would support his plan if he had one, and she would help him plan if he didn’t. At the moment, he had half an idea forming in his head. Something about losers and humiliation. It wasn’t fully formed, and it needed a little bit of time. But he had that. If he could get out of the castle, then he had plenty of that.

He stood up, walking to the bird and unhooking Delphi’s letter. Her handwriting, the familiar, feathery scrawl, leapt from the parchment, and Albus smiled. It felt nice to know that at least one person cared about him this much. Cared about him, and was permitted to speak to him.

Although, Harry would have probably stop that too, if he knew. Albus opened the letter, reading it slowly. Delphi’s letters had become fairly similar, though Albus didn’t blame her. There were only so many times that she could rephrase sympathy to the same situation.

Though, at the bottom of this letter, there was a little note about how she had spoken to Scorpius, about how much he’d wanted to talk to him, and Albus felt a jolt of guilt. Scorpius had plucked up the courage to act on the advice that Delphi had given him, and Albus now realised that he had simply kicked him down.

He shook the thought from his mind. It wasn’t important at that point. What he needed to do was get out. So he would. Apologies could come in the first available opportunity. He needed to make the opportunities.

He tore the blank parchment from the bottom of Delphi’s letter and grabbed a quill from his bag. Three words. It only took three words.

Get me out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry is still a little shit in my head, apparently.  
Thanks for reading.  
Kudos and comments appreciated   
Twitter: @evieadams273


	2. What It Takes To Be Brave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Bullying

No reply came that evening, and eventually, Albus decided to try and leave on his own. He didn’t care that it was long past curfew – he didn’t intend to go further than down the corridor. He just wanted to know whether he could actually get out into the corridor.

He pulled on a hoodie and walked into the Common Room, head low in an effort to avoid eye contact. He had made it across most of the room when someone called his name a few times, too many times for him to simply ignore them.

He stood up straight, pulling his hood down and wheeling around to see his brother coming towards him. He rolled his eyes, tapping his foot impatiently as James stopped next to him, holding a bag.

“Yes?” Albus muttered.

“You left your bag in the library,” James said calmly. “You make it sound like I left of my own accord.”

“Someone brought it up for you. And can I just say, I’ve got _my _Invisibility Cloak back. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” Albus smiled sarcastically. “Can I go now, please?”

“Where are you going?”

“Outside.”

“It’s past curfew.”

“And you act as if I give a fuck,” Albus rolled his eyes, taking the bag and walking away.

He didn’t want it back. He wanted to burn it. The entire thing was just another great big unnecessary reminder of how he had messed up. How he had messed it all up. But he swung it over his shoulder, nonetheless, and made his way to the portrait hole.

Nothing appeared unusual when he approached the door, until he stopped to open it and a violent burning sensation spread through the hand that he used to reach towards it. He pulled back sharply, swearing under his breath at the pain. He stared at the door, trying to see if any charm was visible.

When he couldn’t see anything, he reached out again, withdrawing even more quickly when the pain occurred a second time. He turned away, an overwhelming sense of pure rage building in his chest.

He was a prisoner. He had, quite literally, been made a prisoner because he had committed the oh-so-atrocious act of daring to talk to his only friend. Because of that, he was stuck in a Common Room that he didn’t belong in, unable to leave.

He felt fairly sure that the pain wasn’t simply a precaution to prevent everyone from leaving. As bad as the school was for security and safety, it didn’t seem likely that they would intentionally cause harm to students attempting to break curfew. So, it was a charm meant for him, to keep him in the Common Room.

He turned around, pulling his hood up sharply and storming back towards the dormitory. When the door was closed, he screamed out, slamming a fist into the bedpost in anger. He didn’t know how to manage to sheer volume of rage building inside him.

Every time that he had gotten angry before, Scorpius had been there to talk to him, help him process all of it. And now Scorpius was on the other side of the school, probably being teased or beaten up by another set of bullies. Because no one was willing to protect to him.

Albus took a deep breath. He could do very little to help now, and he had to pick his fights. Delphi would get his note and would help him escape. Panicking about it wouldn’t help. The best thing that Albus could do would be to get some sleep and wait for the morning. Even if he struggled to this early in the evening, he knew he needed to sleep. He had barely gotten three hours a night for at least two weeks, and he had no idea how he had made it this far without ending up in the Hospital Wing.

He lay down on the bed, staring upwards and sighing. A few more hours. Or days. A little more time. And then Delphi would get him out and help him. He had the Time-Turner. They could fix everything, and if they did it right, maybe Scorpius wouldn’t mind that they couldn’t take him with. Maybe he would understand that it simply wasn’t possible.

He rolled over and closed his eyes, trying to block every thought flying through his mind. He hated his thoughts, especially now. Every thought was a reminder that he had no control over his life, over anything that he did. Not now, not ever.

But Delphi gave him that control. Delphi gave him the opportunity to be himself, to be free of the shit that he hated in his life. Delphi let him talk and gave him sympathy when he needed it, and helped him to work out the best decisions to take. And she supported him. She didn’t look down on him because he was a teenager. She didn’t treat him like less because he struggled to make things work sometimes.

She treated him like he was human, because he was, and he was immensely grateful for it. As amazing as Scorpius was, he always felt slightly uncomfortable bringing up the things he needed to get out or talk about, because Scorpius had been through so much and often didn’t want to talk as much.

The library had been a moment where they had both cracked and broken, and Albus now wished, again and again, that he could go back and make it right. And talk, just talk, to his friend.

Because he didn’t know when he’d see him again, and he wanted to set things right between them. But that didn’t appear to be an option anymore. He sighed, rolled over once more, and attempted to keep his thoughts solely focussed on a crisp, blank sheet.

He drifted off to sleep eventually.

* * *

The next morning, there was no noise in the dormitory when Albus woke up. He took a moment to remember that it was Saturday and he had probably overslept by mistake. And then he took another moment to allow his mind to flood with the memories of the day before, and he took a few shaky breaths.

He sat up slowly, jumping out of his skin as he looked up to see Delphi sat on the bed across from him. Once his breathing had returned to something vaguely normal, he stared at her again, trying to make sense of her small smile.

She stood up, walking over to him, and he swung his legs off the bed, starting to stand up and go to his trunk.

“Morning,” he said quietly. “May I ask why you’re – what are you doing in here?”

“I’m getting you out,” Delphi frowned. “I got your note.”

“Yeah, but why are you in _here_. This is the boys’ dormitory.”

“And?” Delphi shrugged.

“Okay,” Albus nodded slowly. “Well, can I have a moment to change and then – I don’t know.”

“I have a plan.”

“Okay,” Albus nodded again. “You have a plan. Okay. Thank you.”

He hurried into the bathroom and changed into the clothes he had grabbed. His shock at Delphi meant that he had not looked at the clothes he had grabbed, and he had somehow ended up with the most lurid combination of clothing that he had ever seen. He attempted to ignore it and get dressed, before hurrying back out into the dormitory.

Delphi was stood, holding a small bag that she offered to him, and a broomstick. Albus took the bag slowly, still a little blank, and waited for a slight explanation.

“There’s some essentials for you in there,” Delphi said quickly. “The only way out of here safely is flying so I had to pack light.”

“I have the Time-Turner,” Albus blurted. “What do we do?”

“You have the Time-Turner?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” Delphi smiles. “Very good. Get it.”

“Why?” Albus asked quietly, frowning slightly as he bent down to pick it up from where he had put it last night.

“We’re fixing this mess, aren’t we?” Delphi smiled. “I mean, I’d hoped you and Scorpius would be able to, but seeing as that hasn’t worked out, we can do it without him.”

Albus nodded. He didn’t want to leave without Scorpius. He didn’t want to do any of it without Scorpius’ approval, because he knew Scorpius was so much smarter than him, and would point out any flaws in the plan. But Delphi was right. They needed to go, and if they couldn’t bring Scorpius, it wasn’t the absolute end of the world.

He turned back to Delphi. “Do you know how to fix this?”

“No,” Delphi shook her head. “But we have the Second and Third Task to play with.”

Albus nodded again, running through his mind to try and find something that they could do. Something that would make Cedric lose the Triwizard Tournament. Something that would make him a loser.

Something that would make Cedric like him.

What was the worst part of his existence at school? What was the worst thing that people did, simply because they were bored? What was it that truly defined someone as a loser?

Albus knew what it was. It was present in every situation that he encountered. When he made a mistake that no one else made. When someone beat the crap out of him in front of a hundred others. When no one cared.

The same reason that he had truly begun to isolate himself. The reason that his father would never truly understand, because everybody loved him. Everybody loved famous Potter with his scar and his tragic backstory.

And everybody loved taking out their grievances with him on his middle son. Not the older one. He was too like his father. Not his daughter. She was kind and loving. But his middle son was isolated and bitchy and constantly pissed off.

And probably gay. But that was a thought for another moment in time.

“We need to humiliate him,” Albus muttered, trying to tell himself it was necessary. “We need to humiliate him, and then he might not get to the cup in time.”

“You think that will work?” Delphi asked, though she didn’t look as if she doubted him.

“You’d be surprised how much humiliation will slow you down,” Albus said quietly. “If you’re a loser, and everyone hates you, and then you win? People don’t like that.”

Delphi’s expression softened as he spoke, and she put down her things to wrap her arms around him. He took a deep breath, leaning into her touch. It felt strangely comforting to be in her embrace, to know someone cared, and the thought occurred to him that, perhaps, she had become some sort of family figure to him.

Not a crush. Thinking of her like that was incredibly strange. He seemed to think of her as something of an aunt. A family figure who he could talk to, confide in, and trust that it would be solely between them. A person that he knew would always support him, but would guide him somewhat. Offer some construction in his life.

He didn’t have a crush on her. He was fairly sure that he was not straight. Because every time he looked at a vaguely attractive boy, he would feel his heart flutter somewhat. There would be some sort of electricity flowing through his veins. Some secret that no one around him would ever know about.

Well, not yet, anyway.

And he had never felt that way about any girl he had ever seen.

He couldn’t imagine trying to break the idea to his overly pissed off father. Yes. That was a brilliant idea. He hadn’t done what he was told in something his father was quite literally obsessed with. Coming out to his father was a brilliant next step.

Coming out to his father, with the information that he was fairly sure he had fallen for his best friend – that was the best step forward.

He shook the thought as Delphi stopped hugging him. It didn’t need to be priority. They had something bigger, something much bigger, to do. Something that the fate of a life resting on it.

“So,” he said. “What are we going to do?”

“We are going to go back to the Second Task,” Delphi grinned, “and we are going to humiliate Cedric.”

“Okay,” Albus nodded. “And we’re – we’re flying out?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Okay right. Um. I’m not – I’m not brilliant on a broom. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Delphi smiled. “I only have one broom so I can fly.”

“Okay,” Albus nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

Delphi smiled again, walking to the window and opening it. Albus shivered as the late September air breezed through the room. He picked up his bag, swinging it onto his bag and walking towards Delphi, who was already sat on the window sill with the broom, ready to leave.

He took a deep breath, and walked towards her. It would be a short flight, and then he would never have to get on a broom again. Probably.

Delphi dove out the window, circling a couple of times before coming back to the window. Albus took another deep breath, and swung his legs out of the window, sliding on the broom while managing to stifle a scream. He hated heights. And flying. And being out of his depth.

Delphi laughed, her hair flying madly in the wind, and she soared off towards the Lake. Albus clung onto her, keeping his eyes shut tightly for the majority of the journey. At one point, they dropped like a stone, and he screamed in fear as the wind raced through his ears.

When he braved opening his eyes, they were stood on the edge of the forest, apparently just out of sight of Hagrid’s hut. Albus glanced around and caught a glimpse of the lake through the trees. This was happening. They were going to do it. It would be okay.

He didn’t want to humiliate Cedric. He didn’t want to cause an innocent boy pain. But it would save his life. And that was more important. Or, he had to tell himself that. He hoped, desperately, that Cedric would not succumb to the pain and hatred that came with ongoing humiliation.

Supposedly, the worst case scenario was that Cedric survived, only to hate his existence to the point where saving him was debatable in its worth. But that wouldn’t happen. Surely that wouldn’t happen. Everything would be fine. Everything would be entirely okay. Entirely okay. Probably.

He looked at Delphi, who was busy stashing the broom in a tree. She smiled when she turned around to see him watching, and bent down to pull several things from her bag. First, came a small, clear bag full of green foliage. Albus stared at it, trying to place it from one Herbology lesson or other.

“Gillyweed,” he said.

“Very good,” Delphi smiled. “Best thing I can think of to swim underwater for a long time.”

“Yeah,” Albus nodded. “Wait. Are we swimming? Because neither of us are really – you know – dressed for it.”

Delphi smiled again, taking out her wand. Half a moment later, Albus looked down to see that he was now wearing a green and silver bathing suit. He smiled. Slytherin colours. Not Gryffindor. His colours. The house he truly belonged to, not the one he’d chosen to spite a cousin he had never met.

“Leave your bag here,” Delphi said. “It’ll be here when we get back.”

“Okay,” Albus nodded. “Listen, I should say, we only have five minutes on this Time-Turner. There’s something wrong with it.”

“Okay,” Delphi said. “Five minutes. That’s all we allow for.”

“What are we actually doing?”

“Can you do the Engorgement Charm?”

“You want me to Engorgify Cedric?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Albus nodded again and looked towards the lake.

One more trip and they’d fix everything. He could apologise to Scorpius. He could sort everything out. One more trip that involved altering the course of history.

Whatever happened, it would be okay. Probably.

History seemed to paint Cedric as too nice a person to do something outwardly negative as a result of experiencing humiliation. Although, no one had tested that theory. And they were about to.

Albus shook the thought. Everything was going to be entirely okay. Delphi was smart. If there were any major flaws in his plan, she’d have pointed them out, they’d have worked around them.

They would be absolutely fine. Completely, absolutely fine.

Delphi lead him to the lake, handing him a strand of Gillyweed. He took it, trying to ignore the sheer unpleasantness of its rubbery texture, and put it into his mouth as she did. As soon as he had managed to choke down the utterly disgusting slime that he had placed in his mouth, he followed Delphi into the lake, gasping at how cold it was.

He shouldn’t have expected it to be warm, given that it was Autumn, but it was still a shock to his system, and he winced as he took a couple more steps forward. Then, a couple of steps later, some sort of invisible force started to smother him, cutting off any and all oxygen.

He was starting to feel light-headed as he fought for air, and then he started to writhe in pain at the stabbing pains in his neck. He would have screamed, but he couldn’t make a noise. He tried to feel his neck to work out what was wrong, whether it was the Gillyweed or some horrific side-effect that would kill him.

The feeling of flaps of skin in the breeze confirmed that it was not the latter and he dived after Delphi, taking deep gulps of the no-longer-icy water. He spotted her a few metres away and swam towards her, a little surprised to find that his feet were now large flippers that propelled him through the water with a graceful ease.

She smiled at him, beckoning him onwards. He followed her through the murky water, struggling to see in the dark. Eventually, she stopped, taking out the Time-Turner from her pocket. It took a moment for Albus to register how she had managed to get it from his robe pocket, but he didn’t do anything.

Delphi started to spin the Time-Turner, and Albus placed his hands around it, taking a deep breath in as the noise echoed through the water, the light bending as it danced. Any wildlife around them immediately become spooked and swam away as quickly as possible.

Half a second later, everything was spinning and loud and changing and morphing into a stranger, distorted version of itself, and Albus closed his eyes. He hated this part.

And then there was silence. Complete and utter silence. The cheering from the crowd had been muffled by the water, and there was no sound coming from anyone in the lake.

Albus looked at Delphi, and she nodded towards a figure approaching through the water. Cedric, in his Hufflepuff bathing suit, gliding as quickly as he could, with a strange bubble resting over his mouth. Albus raised his wand quickly, trying to force everything he could into his Engorgement Charm.

The light shot through the water and hit Cedric, square in the face. The look of shock on his face was evident as his head started to expand, lifting him upwards through the water as he fought to stay below the surface.

Albus jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder, swimming around to see Delphi, holding the Time-Turner. It was starting to spin, and Albus placed his hands around it, waiting for the inevitable tug back to the present.

As it occurred, Albus felt a strange numbness building in his chest, growing, like some sort of curse. It felt painful, blossoming and spreading through his torso, and then the rest of him. He looked at Delphi, fear in his eyes.

She smirked and the last thing Albus could think was a question. A question of whether she knew what was happening.

And then everything was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For once, Albus is not in denial about how gay he is. I like this Albus.  
Thanks for reading.  
Kudos and comments appreciated.  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	3. All It Takes Is One Person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: mentions of bullying, and abuse

Scorpius woke with a headache. A violently unpleasant, blinding headache, that only seemed to get worse when he tried to work out why he had it. He refused to believe that he had gotten ill, simply because he was stronger than that. But the pain was too great to solely be down to a headache.

When he tried to ignore the pain, it seemed to come with an entire mess of hurt. It seemed to come with a hundred conflicting thoughts, a thousand memories that didn’t make sense.

Memories of himself, of himself torturing and killing and maiming because that was what he had been taught to do. Memories of him ignoring any and all work set by teachers, because he was smart enough to not do it. Memories of him enjoying his life and fitting in.

And then there were other thoughts. Thoughts of his own pain and suffering. Thoughts of taking pleasure in the work that he was able to do. Thoughts of a boy who cared about him, a boy who seemed to stick in his mind for reasons he could not place.

He lay back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside so that he could concentrate properly. It didn’t, and he tried to delve back inside his mind and work out what was real. His memories or his thoughts.

It didn’t seem like something that should be an internal debate, but there were too many rogue thoughts to simply ignore them. It was almost like another life’s worth of information clouding his mind, and he couldn’t pretend that didn’t exist.

Solving it, as an idea, might end his headache, which would make his day a lot easier. He didn’t have any fun lessons that day, so it was always a struggle when it came around on the timetable. But he did understand that he couldn’t have Dark Arts every day. He had it far more than everyone else anyway.

He was the Scorpion King. He had certain privileges.

He let himself fall into his wall of thoughts, allowing them to wash over him. And he fell into another world. Another life. Full of love and kindness and beauty. And full of fear and sadness and quiet.

If he was right in his suspicions that it was some other life, then he was glad to be here. His ‘other life’ seemed horrific. He didn’t think any of it was happy, in any way. He was unpopular. He had no mother and that hurt more than it did here. People made up nasty rumours about him. People physically attacked him.

But here, here he was feared and respected and a leader.

But here, he had no friends, no one to rely on. He carried himself. And part of his mind remembered the feeling of relying on others, relying on the boy. The brown-haired boy with green eyes and a smile that stretched to the moon. The brown-haired boy who listened and cared and helped him through the parts of his life that he couldn’t manage alone.

The brown-haired boy without a name.

Scorpius took a breath, attempting to block out the pain in his temples a little more as he tracked through his second set of memories. He tracked through to his last thought that he could place in time. The last thing that he could remember as a specific memory was a train, jumping from a distorted version of the Hogwarts’ Express. A red train. And a strange woman with claws.

And then lots of people, chaos, followed by quiet. Followed by breaking into an office, an official office. To steal something. To steal a Time-Turner. To bring Cedric Diggory back from the dead. When he was dead.

And then it had gone wrong. They had changed things. It had resulted in the brown-haired boy ignoring him for a month. And then they had met. They had met because of another woman. A woman with strange hair. She had told him to go, see the brown-haired boy. So he had.

And then he had gotten angry. And they had been found. Found by someone important. And he had screamed at the boy. Screamed at–

“Albus.”

The name escaped his lips before he could stop it, and he screwed up his face as the pain got worse, much worse. But as it did, his memories, all of them, flooded through his mind. He could see it all.

Every moment of sadness and fear and hatred flashed through his mind, torturing his mind as he tried not to react. No one could see him in his weakness. No one could see him fall, in any way. Not simply because he was the Scorpion King, but because the other part of him understood that it would cost him his life. He couldn’t let that happen.

He couldn’t die, because he needed to make it back to the brown-haired boy, to Albus. Because, in every memory of pain and hatred and fear and quiet, there was happiness and beauty and love, all from that one person. All from Albus. And his memory of Albus grew with every passing second.

His headache was getting worse as the thoughts clashed, and he forced something through it all to clear his mind. He couldn’t simply accept one life and leave the other. Even if he enjoyed being the Scorpion King, there was something so endearing about Albus, about being loved. At least, he thought he was loved. It felt that way.

He wanted to be Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy felt right, felt like there was some option of happiness in being Scorpius Malfoy. But he couldn’t forget being the Scorpion King. The Scorpion King had knowledge of the world that he needed. And the ability to switch off might have to come into use.

He didn’t want it to. He didn’t want it to come to that, because both parts of his mind understood that it wasn’t right. But it wasn’t about what was right and wrong. It was about survival. Survival mattered most. Getting back to that other strange world that he wasn’t entirely familiar with. But the world that he wanted to be in. That he told himself he wanted to be in.

Because of the brown-haired boy.

He sat up, deciding to attempt to ignore the headache and get ready for the day. Today was where his father being the head of Magical Law Enforcement came in handy. Ever since his mum’s death, he had been permitted a visit to his father at work, once a week. Not that they ever really did anything with the meetings.

Still, Scorpius would be grateful to see a familiar face. A familiar face who would still love him, despite where they were. His memories of this version of his father were of a cold, closed-off man. But that did not mean there was not hope. It was all relative. It would be okay. Surely it would all be okay.

* * *

He sat down in the Great Hall, attempting to make himself behave properly while part of his mind got used to the sheer stiffness of his robes. People seemed to be avoiding him, and he allowed himself to stare coolly at those who passed him. They were scared of him, and he liked that. For some reason, he loved that.

He shook himself. He didn’t love it. He didn’t want people to be scared of him. That was wrong. But it was nice not to be in fear. Even if he was alone. It was nice not to be scared. Even it came at the price of him being feared.

“Scorpion King!”

The call came from behind him and he looked around to see Karl Jenkins and Yann Fredricks coming towards him, grinning. He opened his mouth to speak, his two minds at war.

“Jenkins.” The Scorpion won. “Fredricks.”

“We’re still on right?” Jenkins asked, almost shouting it to the rest of the hall. “Tomorrow night.”

Tomorrow night. What had they arranged, again? It had slipped, even from the Scorpion’s mind. Simply because he didn’t rate it as important. Jenkins and Fredericks were sycophants only interested in bettering themselves in the eyes of anyone important.

“Because we are ready to spill some proper Mudblood guts!”

“I am aware,” Scorpion muttered, half-rolling his eyes. “You do not need to keep reminding me.”

“Of course,” Fredericks said quickly. “Sorry, Scorpion King.”

“Now, if you could leave me in peace,” Scorpion said calmly, “it would be greatly appreciated.”

There was no response and Scorpius watched them walk away, taking another swig of Pumpkin Juice. Supposedly, liquids did something to help headaches. He was struggling to concentrate, and he needed to. He couldn’t allow the Scorpion King to win when he saw his father. He, Scorpius Malfoy, needed to be the one in control, while inside that office. He needed to see his dad. If that was at all possible.

* * *

The headache had not subsided when he arrived in the office, two hours later. The battle had been constant and ongoing during every interaction, though Scorpius was starting to win. Or take control with what he needed to, in order to use the time in his own way.

It wasn’t so much that he was fighting desires to do wrong. Simply that he was fighting years’ worth of awful, unpleasant habits that kept him alive. There didn’t seem to be a balance between survival and remaining a decent person. None at all.

He had spent the morning trying to work out what had happened to bring this world about. What had Albus done to alter any of this? The only differences in his past that he could keep track of, were centred around the Second Task and what had happened to Cedric. And what that had caused. Humiliation, that had led to more humiliation, and more. And more. And more. Until his world had crumbled into something that had pushed him over the edge.

And Neville Longbottom had died.

And, for some reason, Severus Snape had survived.

Severus Snape stuck in his mind. Scorpius’ memories kept reminding him that Snape had been two-sided, but overall, good. His first instinct, upon remembering this fact, was to turn Snape in, but he stopped himself.

He needed Snape. If Snape was still shady in himself, then perhaps there was a chance that he would know how to help, how to get back to Albus. Because all of the mess around them could be unwoven. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe.

He shook the thought and knocked on the door, waiting for the response. Deep, slow breaths. No fear. No knowledge that he was in the wrong. He needed the Scorpion King’s fearlessness, arrogance, and his own heart. His own love. Because that still existed.

He opened the office door when called, and walked in, looking at his father. He almost smiled at his own gut reaction of hatred, because it meant that he was in control.

“Father,” he said quietly.

“You are late,” Draco said calmly, not looking at him.

“Father?”

“You are late,” Draco repeated. “You have never been late.”

“My apologies, sir,” Scorpius tried not to let his hands shake. “I am not feeling my best.”

“Do you expect that to be an excuse?”

“No, sir. I’m sorry.”

“Good,” Draco turned to look at him. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“I just – I just came to see you,” Scorpius stumbled slightly on his words. “Like I do every week.”

“And there is always something wrong. Something for you to complain about. What is it this week?”

“I…”

“Come on, Scorpius. I do not have time for this.”

“Are you responsible?”

Scorpius cursed himself as the words tumbled from his mouth, staring at the floor as his father stopped what he was doing. And yet, he knew why he had asked it. If his father was so desperate to simply end the meeting, he had to inspire conversation, through whatever mean he could. Even if it hurt like this.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry,” Scorpius said quickly.

“Look at me.”

Scorpius obeyed.

“Ask me again.”

“Sir?”

“Ask.”

He took a deep breath.

“Are you responsible?”

“For what?”

“This,” he gestured around himself. “The _Daily Prophet _today – three wizards blowing up bridges to see how many Muggles they can kill with one blast – is that you?”

“Be very careful.”

“The ‘Mudblood’ death camps,” Scorpius spat, half his venom a by-product of fighting back the Scorpion King. “The torture. The _burning alive _of those that oppose him. How much of that is you?”

“This is nothing new, Scorpius. This was happening last week. And the month before. And the year before.”

“And you never did anything to stop it,” Scorpius muttered, starting to walk closer. “Mum asked you, begged you, to stop it. And you never did. Because you’re not a better man than she could see. You’re this. You’re a murderer. A torturer. A–”

He whimpered as he got within reach of his father, and his father seized his neck and forced his head to the desk sharply. He didn’t dare breath as the words rang through the room.

“Do not,” he growled, “use her name in vain, Scorpius. You do not score points that way. _She _deserves better.”

Scorpius attempted to stifle a sob as he was pushed away and he stumbled across the office floor, eyes filling with tears. Neither part of himself could remember having ever come to harm because of his father. He had been scared and threatened and pained, but he had never come to any true harm. And yet, here he was. Sobbing in his father’s office.

He looked up, attempting to ignore the pain in the back of his neck, and face. His father stared coolly at him and he took a deep breath. Maybe it would be better to let the Scorpion win. At least temporarily.

No. No, it wasn’t. He couldn’t let darkness win, simply because it was easier to not fight it, simply because it was safer. He would never make it back if he succumbed to hate when things got difficult. He had to keep fighting and understand that he faced whatever he brought upon himself.

“And no,” his father said quietly, “before you ask again, those idiots blasting muggles are not my doing, though it will be me the Augurey asks to bribe the muggle prime minister with gold.”

A pause.

“Did you mother really think I was a better man?”

“You heard her begging,” Scorpius muttered, allowing himself to see his darker past. “She loved you. She never wanted any of – this.”

“My father nearly killed me for marrying her.”

“And yet you defied him. And she said it was the bravest thing she’d ever seen.”

That was a memory that was true in both worlds. Not in the same circumstances. Not for entirely the same reasons. But because it was what happened when two people loved one another. And neither Scorpius nor the Scorpion could doubt that his mother and father’s love was one to last all ages.

“She made being brave very easy, your mother.”

“But that was – another you,” Scorpius heard his voice crack. “I’ve done bad things dad. You’ve done worse. What have we become?”

“We haven’t _become _anything,” his father frowned. “We simply are as we are.”

“The Malfoys,” Scorpius muttered. “The family you can always rely on to make the world a murkier place.”

His father’s expression softened and he glanced back, before crossing the office. Scorpius backed away slightly, still painfully aware of what had happened moments before, but he didn’t run.

“What’s going on, Scorpius?” his father asked softly.

“A part of me doesn’t want to be who I am,” he replied quietly, seeing no way to lie through it.

“And what’s brought that on?”

“I’ve – seen myself in a different light.”

Another glance around.

“Whatever you do, do it safely. I cannot lose you too.” “Yes, sir.” “For Voldemort and Valour.”

He repeated the words, but he could not bring himself to mimic the hand movement. He hated it. He hated that those words, that symbol of a bird, was enough to destroy his entire world. Or one version of it.

His father didn’t seem to notice, and he backed out of the office, running a hand along the back of his neck. The skin felt tender and bruised, and he winced. That injury was his own fault. He had riled his father. He deserved it.

Except, he didn’t. He had simply stated an opinion, and his father, the person who was supposed to love him most in the world, had hurt him. Because that was what the world was. The world was hatred and pain and fear.

And, unlike the other world, there was no love to relieve him. There was no brown-haired boy. There was no hope. No hope for anyone. Even those who were supposed to bask in the darkness.

Except, you couldn’t bask in darkness. You could only bask in light, and this was not light. This could never be light.

He shook the thought as he walked away. It was unimportant now. What mattered was getting out of it all. Getting to someone he could start to trust. And then, then he would make it back home. Home to the people he loved, the people who cared about him.

Home to set things right. Because the last thing he could truly remember was a fight. A fight where he had screamed and shouted. A fight that they had never resolved. He wanted to fix that. He wanted to talk to his friend.

* * *

As soon as he had arrived back at Hogwarts, Scorpius put his things away and went to the Potions classroom. He didn’t hesitate to enter, staring at Severus Snape, who was writing on the blackboard slowly, apparently bored and distasteful.

“Professor Snape,” the Scorpion spoke for him.

“Malfoy,” Snape turned, his lip curling upwards slightly. “Have you come to explain why you are bullying another student to do your studies for you?”

“What?” Scorpius stared. “No. No. I need your help.”

“I exist to serve.”

“I just don’t know what help I need,” he lied slowly.

He did know. He knew he needed a Time-Turner. He knew exactly what he had to do, but if he couldn’t trust Snape, and he admitted the entire plan now, he’d wind up dead.

A silence.

“Are you still – undercover – now?” he asked quietly, wincing as he did. “…still working – secretly – for Dumbledore?”

“Dumbledore?” Snape turned around to look at him again. “Dumbledore is dead. And my work for him was public – I taught in his school.”

“No,” Scorpius shook his head. “No, that’s not all you did. You watched the Death Eaters for him. You advised him. Everyone thought you’d murdered him but it turned out you’d been supporting him – you saved the world.”

“These are very dangerous allegations, boy,” Snape said quietly, “and do not think that the Malfoy name will prevent me inflicting punishment.”

“You can’t touch me,” the Scorpion sneered, before Scorpius reeled him in. “I’m sorry. No. I didn’t mean to say that.”

“It sounded more like you normally sound.”

“No, no, what if I were to tell you there was another world?” Scorpius said quickly. “Yes, another world, in which Voldemort was defeated at the Battle of Hogwarts, in which Harry Potter and Dumbledore’s Army won. How would you feel then?”

“I’d say that the utter madness of this place is finally starting to get to the Scorpion King.”

“There was a stolen Time-Turner,” Scorpius blurted. “No, I stole a Time-Turner. With the – with Albus. We tried to bring Cedric Diggory back from the dead – when he was dead. We tried to stop him from winning the Triwizard Tournament. And it didn’t work. But Albus did something else. I don’t know what. But by doing it, he turned Cedric into an almost different person entirely.”

“Harry Potter won that Triwizard Tournament.”

“But Cedric was supposed to win with him,” Scorpius nodded. “But Albus finished the changes and he became a Death Eater and I am still struggling to understand how. But he did, and he killed Neville, so Nagini didn’t die.”

“You know exactly what you need.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“No,” Snape said icily. “I do not trust your Malfoy games. Get out, before I alert your father and plunge you into deep trouble.”

Scorpius started to back away, and then a thought occurred to him. One he couldn’t ignore. One that could save his life, save the world.

“You loved his mother.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t remember everything,” Scorpius admitted. “I’m fighting about a million colliding memories in a legendarily awful headache, but I know you loved his mother. Harry’s mother, Lily. I know you spent years undercover. I know that, without you, the war could never have been won. How would I know that if I hadn’t seen the other world?”

Silence fell, and Scorpius searched for something else to say, something else to convince Snape that he was worth helping. Something that would hit home, something that would actually resonate with a man who appeared to be an emotionless shell.

“Only Dumbledore knew, am I right?” he said quickly. “And when you lost him, you must have felt _so _alone. I know you’re a good man. Harry Potter told his son, my _best _friend, you are a _great _man.”

“Harry Potter is dead.”

“Not in another world,” Scorpius said. “Not in _my _world. He knew – you see – he knew your secret – what you did for Dumbledore – and he admired you for it _greatly_. And that’s why he named his son – my best friend – after you both. Albus Severus Potter.”

More silence. Scorpius swallowed nervously, staring forward.

“Please,” he begged. “For Lily, for the world, help me.”

Snape pulled out his wand and walked towards Scorpius with it outstretched. Scorpius didn’t move, staring at him defiantly. He would not be afraid of a man that, if he let himself, he could fight off.

But he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t fight him, because he needed his help. And because violence and hurting him wasn’t the right thing to do. Hurting people, for any reason, no longer appealed to him as an answer, but only when he was adamant about his thoughts.

Of course, he couldn’t expect to be anywhere near perfect. How could he? He had been attempting to change his thinking for a few hours only. He couldn’t expect himself to be in a new habit already.

So, he stayed still as Snape walked towards him, and then aimed his wand at the door, sealing it before he turned on his heel and went back to the blackboard. He ran the chalk around the centre in a large rectangle, and the edges starts to glow brightly. Scorpius watched, somewhat curious, as a door appeared in the centre of the board, and he smiled.

Of course. Of course.

“The DA are thriving?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Snape muttered. “We’ve had to move many times. Surviving. We’re surviving.”

“Of course you are.”

“Come on,” Snape snapped. “We haven’t got time for your pathetic attempt at words.”

Scorpius nodded, following Snape through the board into a tunnel. They walked in silence through the darkness, and Scorpius placed a hand on the wall to guide himself. He didn’t like being unsure of his surroundings. He was no longer completely used to it.

He stopped sharply as Snape reached for a door, and then he took a deep breath as it opened.

The first thing that he saw was a quiet, empty room, and he walked in slowly, glancing around himself instinctively. He barely had a moment’s peace, before someone seized him from behind and pinned him to the table sharply, their wand in his neck.

“You make one move, Malfoy, and your arms will be rubber and your brain will be a frog.”

“I’m on your side,” Scorpius grunted, struggling against her vice-like grip.

“And why would I believe you?”

“Because my wand is still in my pocket and Severus Snape is being surprisingly calm about my appearance.”

“Severus?”

“He’s safe,” Snape sounded bored.

Scorpius straightened up as Hermione let go of him, smoothing out his robes and trying to stop himself behaving like the Scorpion King.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “That was overly harsh. I’m sorry.”

“You care about how you sound?”

“Perhaps not the discussion for now,” Snape interjected. “More important matters at hand, and all that.”

“I am on your side, Hermione,” Scorpius said quietly.

“Most people know me as Granger,” Hermione said sharply, her wand at his throat again.

“It’s my fault,” Scorpius blurted. “Well, no. Sort of. It’s my friend’s fault. But he’s not here.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s dead,” Scorpius swallowed, forcing air into his lungs. “This – creating this – it killed him.”

“_Creating _this?”

“You might want to sit down,” Snape said. “His explanation is – quite interesting.”

“What explanation?”

“It’s my fault,” Scorpius said quietly. “My fault, and Albus’. And maybe Delphi’s. But I don’t know.”

“Albus?” Hermione turned sharply. “What does Albus Dumbledore have to do with this?”

“He doesn’t mean Dumbledore,” Snape muttered. “Sit down.”

Scorpius opened his mouth to try and explain again, when the doors opened and Ron hurried in, stopping to stare at the scene in front of him.

“Ah, Snape,” he started to smile. “A royal visit.” Pause. “What is he doing here?”

He fumbled for his wand and Scorpius stayed still as he rambled something about being armed and dangerous. The darker part of himself found it difficult to take seriously when the man’s wand was pointing the wrong direction, but he remained silent. Snape insisted again that Scorpius was ‘safe’, and Ron accepted it.

After that, they all looked at Scorpius, and he took it as a cue to begin talking. So he did.

As he explained, his headache started to make itself known a little more violently, and he slowed down a little, trying not to let on that anything was wrong. The headache was a sign that he didn’t have complete control over himself, and therefore a sign that he couldn’t be safe, as they thought.

He explained what his home universe was like, and then he explained what he knew about Albus, the first reality, the month alone, the argument. And then waking up in another universe. Snape, Hermione and Ron listened silently as he explained, expressions of scepticism growing with most of his hesitations. Scorpius couldn’t help but feel that they thought this to be some sort of insane plan that the leader (the Augurey?) had concocted to unearth the last of the rebels.

He had, after all, no proof other than his world. The Time-Turner was gone, had never existed in this universe apparently, and he couldn’t ask Albus. And he had no idea where Delphi would be, or if she would even be aware of what had happened. It wasn’t worth the risk in trying to find her.

When he finished explaining, he looked at the floor, waiting for the moment where they either believed and trusted him, or killed him. There wouldn’t be an in-between. This was not world of trust and it was not worth trusting him.

“You expect us to believe this?” Ron asked. “Now, call me untrustworthy but this isn’t a lot to go on. “I’ve told you everything.” “You have very little evidence.”

“I can tell you more about yourself,” Scorpius offered. “My memory is a little patchy, but I can tell you. And I can tell you about your lives in the other worlds.”

“Is my daughter’s name Rose?” Hermione asked quietly.

“Pardon?”

“During the First Task,” Hermione said, “a Durmstrang boy who looked almost exactly like you, called me Rose. And then his friend said he’d confused me for someone else.”

“That was me,” Scorpius nodded eagerly. “I called you Rose. She looks like you. Albus was the one who called you Hermione.”

“You claim that was you?”

“Yes.”

“Describe your friend. Merlin knows he wasn’t memorable, but I know what he looks like.”

Scorpius took a deep breath and tried his best to picture Albus. The image in his mind was distorted with pain, but he did his best to focus on the most memorable parts of it. Or rather, the parts that he found most memorable.

“He has dark brown hair,” he started slowly. “It’s thick and when it’s windy it always gets in his eyes because he forgets to cut it. He’s short, well, shorter than me, and he hates it because I tease him for it. His eyes are this deep green colour and they sparkle when it’s sunny and–”

“Yes, Malfoy,” Hermione interrupted impatiently. “We all know you’re in love with this boy. Please don’t get distracted.”

Scorpius hesitated slightly, taking in what Hermione had said. Was he in love? It didn’t feel like that, but maybe that happened to be because he had never considered that loving Albus had been an option. The chance of his feelings being requited were likely the lowest of the low, so it didn’t seem worth thinking about.

But if it didn’t seem worth thinking about, that meant that he had devoted time to thinking about it, and had arrived at that conclusion. Meaning that there was a possibility that he did have some feelings for Albus. Something.

And he didn’t mind. It didn’t seem like a bad thing to think about.

There were worse people to fall in love with, after all.

“Malfoy.”

“Uh, yes,” he snapped back to reality. “Sorry.”

“I’ll believe you,” Hermione said quietly. “Your story makes sense. What do you want?”

“Thank you,” Scorpius let out a breath, relaxing a little. “Thank you so much.”

“Welcome to our lovely little rebellion,” Ron muttered, sighing. “Otherwise known as the ‘How do we kill our maniacal dictator and his assistant?’ club.”

“His assistant?”

“The Augurey,” Hermione explained. “She’s – well we don’t know who she is or what she wants. We’ve looked, but she is quite literally a shadow.”

“I – well – I only really need one thing,” Scorpius said quietly. “A Time-Turner.”

“A Time-Turner?”

“Yes,” Scorpius nodded. “I know what happened in the First Task. I think I’ve worked out the Second Task. I could make the changes myself. But I don’t know how I could get a Time-Turner.”

He remained silent as Ron and Hermione shared a few glances, before nodding at one another, apparently confirming some decision or other.

“We have allies,” Ron supplied. “We could see what we could do. And we’ve somehow managed to salvage a few books from the hundreds of raids.”

“Thank you,” Scorpius said quietly. “Thank you for helping me. I know it’s a risk. Thank you.”

“We’ve done nothing for too many years,” Hermione said. “Even if this is all a trick, we’ll go down fighting. And if we do die, we’ve been a lost cause for too long.”

“You’re not a lost cause,” Scorpius said sharply. “You’re not. You’ve kept fighting, and this is a chance. We have a chance to fix everything. Because you’re still fighting.”

Hermione looked up, smiling at him softly. He looked down awkwardly, biting his lip. He didn’t understand why that made him feel so warm and vaguely peaceful, but it did, and he didn’t want to concentrate on it. He would be home soon, home to his family, to his friend. To the person he possibly loved.

He straightened up a little as Snape re-entered the room, swallowing a cough that had been building.

“Well, Malfoy,” he said. “We ought to lay low until they’re ready.”

“We’re going back to Hogwarts?” Scorpius felt his heart start to pound in his chest.

“Is that an issue?”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Scorpius said quickly. “I still have memories of – that version of me. I don’t want to succumb to that.”

“Could you just lay low?” Ron asked.

“For how long?” Scorpius pointed out. “I don’t want to mess this up. I’m sorry.”

“Is it viable for him to stay here?” Snape sighed. “People will notice he’s gone missing.”

“People go missing all the time,” Ron said. “That place could have him killed for anything. No one will question it until the message gets around that the Augurey didn’t take him.”

“Fine,” Hermione nodded. “He stays. But I want your wand, Malfoy.”

Scorpius nodded back, pulling it from his pocket and placing it on the table. He felt almost glad to be rid of the thing. Hermione took it, glancing it up and down before placing it in her pocket. Scorpius breathed out slowly, biting his lip as Snape left down the tunnel and Hermione departed for somewhere or other.

“You’re staying here?” Ron said.

“I should,” Scorpius nodded. “Uh – Ron – sir, would you do something for me?”

“What?” Ron asked, somewhat suspiciously.

“Tie me up – please,” Scorpius said quietly. “I don’t – I don’t have complete control over myself. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Fair enough,” Ron nodded.

He waved his wand and a chair appeared, quite literally bolted to the floor. Scorpius sat in it, taking a deep breath and ropes appeared around his wrists, ankles and chest, securing him to the chair. It was wholly uncomfortable and he struggled to draw full breaths, but he was secure. That was the thing that mattered. Everyone else was safe.

“Thank you,” he said to Ron.

“You’re welcome,” Ron nodded, before walking away.

Scorpius closed his eyes and let himself think of Albus. It would pass the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...yeah...Scorpius is also gay as fuck. That's just - we all know that. And I love him. I want you all to know this. Whatever I put him through in this, I do love both the boys.   
Thanks for reading.  
Kudos and comments appreciated   
Twitter: @evieadams273


	4. Where Expectations Fail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Death, mentions of death, abuse

A week passed before Scorpius saw Snape again. According to Ron, he had visited, but Scorpius spent most of his time in the same room, locked in. He didn’t mind. He was glad. While he did feel that he was beginning to win the war in his mind, he had no desire to put it to the test until absolutely necessary. Or until he could be sure someone was with him and ready to act, should it go wrong.

His thoughts of Albus grew more and more vivid as he pinpointed more memories and fantasies. More than once, he considered the possibility that he had feelings for his friend, and it grew more and more likely as he considered it. Another reason to survive and get home.

Unless Albus didn’t feel anything for him. That would probably be the end result. He would work up the courage to tell Albus, and Albus would say that he didn’t feel the same way.

That thought hurt. More than Scorpius expected it to. He tried to stay away from it as an idea, because it made him slightly angry, and he didn’t want to invite the anger in. That was a terrible idea in every sense of the thought.

So, he stayed away from it, trying to distract himself with tracing memories again. After a week, he began to run out of thoughts and was immensely grateful that Ron started to talk to him a little, on occasion.

It started as questions about himself, probably to continue verifying how safe it was to have Scorpius Malfoy in the place, and Scorpius didn’t complain. He understood that the people around him had spent years running from his family, and here he was, asking for their help.

After the second conversation of questions, Ron started to ask him about the other world, and Scorpius found himself explaining some of the things he had missed before.

“You run Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes,” he explained.

“So Hermione is Minister for Magic and I run a joke shop?” Ron stared, eyebrows raised.

“You’re mostly focussed on your family,” Scorpius amended quickly. “You’re a really good parent.”

“Great,” Ron nodded. “May I ask who I married?”

“Uh, okay,” Scorpius said slowly. “What do you – what do you think of Hermione?”

“I married Hermione?” Ron shrieked.

“You did what?” Hermione had just walked in.

“In this other world,” Ron said slowly, as if he were still trying to comprehend it, “we married each other.”

“Right,” Hermione nodded. “Not now, Weasley.”

She left again, and Scorpius bit his lip, trying to stifle the start of a small laugh. It was the first time a true smile had crossed his face for days, and he took it gratefully. He needed it, the hope and the laughter and the knowledge that it would be all right. A week tied to a chair to protect everyone had taken its toll.

It would have been a shock if it hadn’t.

“What about our kids,” Ron asked suddenly. “You said we have a family.”

“You’ve got two kids,” Scorpius explained quietly. “Rose and Hugo. Rose is my age. Hugo is two years younger.”

“Do you know them well?”

“Sort of,” Scorpius said. “I’ve had classes with Rose a lot, but she hates me. I’m – I’m irritating.”

“You’ve been very quiet here.”

“I’m not normally,” Scorpius said. “I’m – Albus has described me as ‘an enormous geek’ – and I ramble a lot – it’s irritating – and I like Rose – she looks a lot like Hermione – I mean, she’s pretty – I don’t really know – I just annoyed her I guess – I’m sorry – I’m rambling again, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Ron smiled at him softly. “She sounds as if she takes after her mother.”

“She does,” Scorpius nodded.

“What about Hugo?”

“I don’t really know him,” Scorpius said. “I – he’s in Albus’ sister’s year. We don’t really talk much. He’s in Hufflepuff.”

“He is?”

“Yeah,” Scorpius nodded. “The whole Weasley family is a bit more house-diverse now.”

“That’s nice,” Ron smiled. “We aren’t all driving each other up the wall constantly.”

“There’s still the opportunity to,” Scorpius said. “And they do.”

Ron chuckled and stood up. He murmured a thank you to Scorpius, saying that he needed to go and do something. Scorpius nodded, watching him go. Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow he would ask to be untied. He wouldn’t ask for his wand, but would ask to see if he could make himself a little safer.

* * *

The next night, he was untied before he could ask to try it. Snape had appeared, claiming that they now had an entry and they had to move now, because the school were starting to suspect Scorpius’ disappearance as more than governmental foul-play. Ron untied Scorpius while Snape produced a Time-Turner, his lips curling upwards slightly.

“It’s a prototype,” he explained. “Cheap metal. Might be faulty. But it’s all we have.”

“Can we test it?” Ron asked.

“We haven’t got time,” Snape said. “It was a necessary risk to steal it, but they will notice it is missing soon. We have to do this now, and we have to get it right.”

Everybody nodded and Scorpius glanced around. Hermione walked to the wall and pulled down a map of the Hogwarts grounds.

“Let’s go through this one more time,” she said. “In this other world, before you meddled?”

“Voldemort is dead,” Scorpius said quickly. “Killed in the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry is Head of Magical Law Enforcement. You’re Minister For Magic.”

“And Ron works at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes,” Hermione nodded. “We’re married et cetera. Weasley, don’t look at me like that, we talked about this.”

“No, we didn’t,” Ron burst out. “We found out and you said, ‘not now’.”

“And Snape,” Hermione continued, “you haven’t said anything about what Snape does in this other world.”

“I’m dead, presumably,” Snape muttered. Off Scorpius’ surprised look. “You were shocked to see me, Malfoy. Your face it quite a betrayal now that you haven’t been entirely trained from birth. How?”

“Bravely.”

“Who?”

“ Voldemort.”

“How very irritating.” A pause. “Still, there’s glory in being taken down by the Dark Lord himself, I suppose.”

“I’m sorry, Severus,” Hermione said softly.

“Well, at least I’m not married to him.”

“Which spells were used?” Hermione turned back to Scorpius.

“We used Expelliarmus in the first one,” Scorpius said slowly. “I don’t know about the second. I think, I think he used Engorgio. It has that effect and Albus isn’t – he’s not brilliant at magic.”

“Shield charms should set both of them right,” Ron chimed in.

“And then you left?”

“Yes.”

“Hermione, you are aware this is just me and the boy. That Time-Turner might be temperamental and we can’t risk anything going wrong.”

“No offence, Snape,” Hermione said sharply, “but I’m not trusting this to anyone…it’s too important.”

“Hermione, you’re the most wanted rebel in the wizarding world,” Snape said, somewhat angry. “Doing this will require you to go outside. When was the last time you were outside?”

“Not for a long time but–”

“If you’re found outside, the Dementors will kiss you – they will suck out your soul.”

“Severus,” Hermione said sharply. “I’m done living off scraps making failed attempts at coups. This is our chance to reset the _world_.”

She went to the map on the wall, indicating several spots on it and murmuring something to herself.

“The first task of the tournament took place at the edge of the Forbidden Forest,” she said. “We turn time here, get to the tournament, block the spell, and then return safely. With _precision _it can be done and it won’t require us to show our faces outside in our time at all. Then we’ll turn time again, make our way to the lake and reverse the second task.”

“And if the Time-Turner doesn’t work? You are risking everything–”

“We get this right,” Hermione interrupted, “Harry’s _alive_. Voldemort’s dead. And the Augurey is gone. For that, no risk is too great. Though I am sorry what it will cost you.”

“Sometimes costs are made to be borne,” Snape said softly.

Silence fell temporarily, and then Snape’s face crumpled slightly as he realised something.

“I didn’t just quote Dumbledore, did I?”

“No,” Hermione smiled. “I’m pretty sure that’s pure Severus Snape.”

“Minister.”

Hermione smiled and turned back to Scorpius and handed him his wand. “Malfoy. Let’s hope this works.”

Scorpius nodded, placing a hand on the Time-Turner. He sucked in breath slowly as they spun it back, weeks, then months, then years. Until the world started to spin and flash and scream with noise and he closed his eyes.

The experience assaulted his senses, forcing him to shut himself off until he felt entirely sure that it had stopped. He opened his eyes again, staring around at the room. Any order that the other version of it had possessed was gone, replaced simply with dirt walls and roots in the ceiling.

Scorpius followed Hermione, Snape and Ron as they walked up the tunnel, their footsteps all light and quick. He tried to keep up as best he could, while not concentrating on exactly how dark it was. He hated the dark. He had hated it for longer than he could remember.

But that didn’t matter now. What mattered now was stopping the past version of Albus and getting back to the present. And then they could fix the lake task and it would all be over. Every bad moment, every moment of terror, would all be past. And they could carry on.

When they arrived at the Task, they managed to slip behind a tree at the back of crowd. Through some miracle, no one noticed them, and all they could do was wait for the spell to be cast.

Scorpius caught a glimpse of himself and Albus, a few feet away, and he shut his eyes tightly. He didn’t want to remember how much he missed Albus, how much it all hurt. It would only be a few more minutes. And he would see Albus. He would talk to Albus. He would tell Albus how he felt.

In a few minutes.

Except something had started to go wrong.

Scorpius had been handed the Time-Turner upon arrival at the task, and it had begun to shake violently, not unsimilar to the first time he had travelled back. He fought with it to get it to Ron and show him that things were collapsing.

“This is taking too long!” Ron said sharply. “Something isn’t working!”

Half a second later, Hermione held Albus’ wand in her hand. She dropped it sharply as the four of them were pulled back to the Time-Turner and sucked back to the present.

As the world settled around them properly, Ron collapsed, screaming in pain. Scorpius had stumbled a few feet and now looked up, trying to get his bearings properly.

“Oh, Ron,” Hermione looked at him. “What has it done to you?”

“This is bad,” Snape muttered.

“The last Time-Turner did something too,” Scorpius supplied. “To Albus. Albus broke his arm.”

“Useful time to – fuck – tell us,” Ron half-snapped.

“We’re above ground,” Snape said sharply. “We need to move. Now.”

“Ron, you can still walk,” Hermione insisted. “Come on.”

“Did it work?” Scorpius asked as Ron pulled himself up, keeping his weight off his injured foot.

“We blocked the spell,” Hermione nodded. “Cedric kept his wand. Yes. It worked.”

“But we came back to the wrong place,” Snape said, “we are outside. _You _are outside.”

“We need to use the Time-Turner again,” Ron groaned, “get out of here–”

“We need to find shelter,” Snape insisted. “We’re horribly exposed.”

They didn’t get a chance to move, however, as a thousand Dementors descended on them, the cold chill in the air incomparable to any other sensation. Scorpius didn’t have time to fight as the sound of screaming filled his ears, blocking out any logic and plans that he had mentally inputted.

He could hear his mother. He could hear his mother sobbing and screaming for his help. And Albus. He could hear Albus too. Albus begging for him to save him, when he couldn’t. When he couldn’t even move because the only thing he could concentrate on was the sound of it all. The knowledge that he had failed. The realisation that he would never again see the people he loved.

He would die here. Or he would lose his soul. And he almost wanted it. Almost wanted it because it would mean an end to the hell inside his mind.

There were voices. Voices in the screams. Voices telling him that he needed to pull himself out. That none of it existed. And he couldn’t grasp them. Not until a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Scorpius.”

Ron’s voice. Ron stood beside him. Ron existed. He forced his eyes open, staring around madly. The four of them were still stood in the same place, now surrounded by hundreds upon thousands of Dementors.

“This is a disaster,” Snape muttered.

“They’re after me,” Hermione said quickly, “not any of you.”

Silence. Apart from the screams.

“Ron, I love you and I always have. But the three of you need to run. Go. Now!”

“What?” Scorpius stared around.

“Yes.” Another voice echoed from behind them. “I don’t think a declaration of love is really in order right now.”

Before Scorpius could see the person approaching; blinding, acid-green light flashed through the crowd of monsters above them, and by the time Scorpius’ vision had cleared, he could no longer see Hermione standing with them.

Because she lay on the ground, eyes wide open in death. And Ron started to scream.

And then he was dead too.

Scorpius screamed, falling to his knees as his mind attempted to make sense of the scene in front of him. And in that moment of his guard falling, his mind exploded with shrieking and terror and the knowledge that no one cared, no one would ever care.

“Scorpius!” Snape half-shouted. “Scorpius, listen to me! Listen to me, now.”

“He isn’t listening.” The same voice giggled. “He doesn’t seem to be able to hear you.”

Scorpius forced himself to open his eyes, whimpering in fear as he saw Dolores Umbridge approaching, guarded by a Patronus that allowed her to keep smiling sweetly.

“Professor Snape,” she said.

“Professor Umbridge,” Snape nodded curtly. “I suppose there isn’t any use in pleasantries?”

“Regretting your life choices?”

“Not really,” Snape said. “I just wanted to know whether you do.”

“I’ll have you know–”

“I’m bored.”

The new voice echoed from above him, and it terrified Scorpius in its familiarity. He knew who it belonged to. And he desperately hoped otherwise. Because if it did belong to the woman he could hear, then his world would fall apart.

He stared, fighting a growing scream, as a woman, the woman, landed in front of him, smiling widely at him.

“You!” he whimpered. “You!”

“Hello, Scorpius.”

“Madam Augurey–”

“Shut up.”

The Augurey. The woman that his best friend had trusted. The woman that had been supposedly kind. The woman that simply wanted her cousin. The woman who stood in front of him. The Augurey.

Scorpius stared at her, unable to find words that would leave his throat. She grinned down at him, before glancing at Snape.

And then it ended. Then, Snape’s body joined those of his companions. Scorpius started to scream. And he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop.

“How could you!” he screeched, shaking and sobbing on the floor. “He trusted you! He trusts you!”

“He doesn’t exist anymore,” she knelt down, running a hand under his chin. “Don’t you remember?”

“Why?” Scorpius sobbed. “Why?”

“Well,” the Augurey smiled. “Why don’t we go to the Ministry and I’ll explain.”

Scorpius didn’t respond.

“Ah yes,” the Augurey nodded. “Of course. You don’t know. You’re wanted, Scorpius. You’re wanted for treason.”

“When are you going to kill me?” he muttered, staring up at her.

“Not yet,” the Augurey assured him. “No. No, I want your dear father to know what I’m going to do with you before it happens.”

Scorpius didn’t have the strength to fight as the Augurey dragged him to his feet, wrapping an arm around his throat. With her other hand, she pulled Scorpius’ wand from his pocket and fiddled with it in front of him.

“Professor,” she smiled. “I’ll deal with him.”

“Of course, Madam Augurey.”

“She’s such a suck up, don’t you think?” Augurey hissed in his ear. “Ah, you’re no fun. Well, not yet anyway.”

Somehow, apparating and landing on the floor of a dimly lit, almost hell-like room, was a relief compared to the Dementors, and Scorpius collapsed, fighting to keep the screams out of his head as Delphi walked away from him.

The room was surprising in the fact that it contained only a fireplace, a desk, and a battered sofa. The colour scheme appeared to be entirely dark green and black, something that even the flames in the fireplace obeyed.

Scorpius watched silently as Delphi walked away, examining something on her desk. A knock on the door echoed a minute or so later, and she looked up, calling out a ‘come in.’ The people who entered wore dark uniforms and had a terrifying aura about them. Scorpius couldn’t help but attempt to scramble backwards, but that only attracted their attention.

“Madam Augurey. Would you like us to take the prisoner?”

“I’d like to do the honours of his execution,” the Augurey grinned.

“Of course. Would you like him in the cells until then?”

“No. No, leave him here. I’m sure I can deal with a wandless teenager.”

“Of course.”

The two guards bowed and disappeared again. Scorpius stared at the Augurey in horror as she drew closer to him, her grin still stretched over her face.

“Why?” he whispered. “Why did you do this?”

“I didn’t,” the Augurey smiled. “Albus did. He cast that Engorgement charm.”

“You told him to.”

“Yes, but I didn’t know its outcome would be this phenomenal.

“This phenomenal…who are you?”

“I’m the Augurey.”

“You’re a façade,” Scorpius spat. “You’re a façade and you’re the reason my best friend is dead.”

“I’m not a façade anymore. I am more than proud to admit my truths.”

“Now that you’re in power.”

“Now that I have my birth-right.”

“Your birth-right – what do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“My birth-right,” the Augurey crouched beside him, her lips hovering next to his ear, “is more than you could ever imagine.”

“I’m looking at it, apparently.”

“You have no idea what this entailed.”

“Murder,” Scorpius snarled. “That’s what this entailed.”

“Getting bored.”

Scorpius opened his mouth to retort with something else, but the Augurey moved faster. With a wave of her hand, Scorpius flew backwards, pain spreading through his limbs as he slammed into the wall, bands appearing around his arms and legs. Securing him.

“Now,” the Augurey smiled sweetly, “where were we?”

“Just kill me,” Scorpius snapped. “You’re going to do it eventually. Just get it over with.”

“Not yet,” the Augurey said. “I’ve got time. I’m going to use my time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...don't kill me? Please? I'm sorry. Well, not really. But I am. (I won't mention how much I giggled the morning after I wrote this - oh fuck) Please come back on Saturday? Saturday will be better. A bit better.  
Thank you for reading that.  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	5. The End Of It All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: torture

The Augurey kept Scorpius hanging from her wall for days, watching him drift in and out of consciousness. Scorpius himself didn’t know how long it was. He knew that it couldn’t be more than three days, because he had not been given any water, and he was still alive. Barely.

The Augurey came and went, never spending a long time with him, rarely speaking to him. Never ending his misery. As the time drew on, he lost the strength to beg, and would remain quiet when she came back. She would flash him little smiles, little taunts, to let him know that it had ended.

He knew. He knew that he had lost, and he knew that he was simply waiting for an end to it all. When it came, he would be ready. And he would be grateful. Even though he would lose Albus. Even though his dad would lose him.

He’d be grateful.

Maybe he’d see his mum. Maybe he’d see his mum.

When the Augurey next walked in, he barely reacted, unable to find the strength to even open his eyes. He didn’t even notice where she was until she walked up to him and ran a cold hand down his cheek.

“Hello, Scorpius. Did you want something?”

“Water,” Scorpius rasped. “Water…”

“And what’s the – magic – word?”

“Kill me.”

“No, it isn’t that.”

“Please…please.”

“Good. But I’m not going to.”

“Water…”

“Yes, you can have water.”

She snapped her fingers and Scorpius whimpered as he landed on the floor, pain shooting through most of his limbs. A mug of water appeared in front of him and he grasped at it clumsily. Most of the water landed on the carpet rather than in his mouth, but what did make it into his body was enough.

“What do you say?” the Augurey sneered.

“Thank…thank you,” Scorpius managed to choke out.

“Good boy. Now.”

She pulled Scorpius up to his knees and ran a hand under his chin. He didn’t fight her as she did so, closing his eyes and waiting. It would end soon. She would end it soon. Eventually. Eventually.

“You want me to end it?” she smirked. “What about your friend?”

“I can’t get back to him anymore…just – just kill me.”

“You’re willing to forget your best friend?” the Augurey grinned. “Shall we take a look at how truthful you’re being?”

“What–”

He stopped sharply as claws appeared inside his mind, ripping apart any subconscious defences and dragging sharp fingers through the inside of his head. He remained completely still as she flicked through hundreds of memories and thoughts, all about Albus. About how much he loved his best friend.

She kept laughing, digging harder and harder every time he whimpered in pain. Because it hurt. Not simply because he knew she had it all now, but because she dug her claws in as far as she could. If it had been possible to bleed in his mind, Scorpius had no doubt that he’d be lying in a pool of the stuff by now.

But it wasn’t, so the only relief his body could glean was screams and pleas. And it didn’t do much.

All he could do was wait for it to end, for her to stop sifting through his thoughts, and when she did, he collapsed, lying in a tight ball on the floor as he sobbed. She laughed.

“Are you sure you want to die?” she asked quietly. “You seem quite fond of Albus.”

“I’m never going to see him again,” Scorpius muttered. “Just – just kill me.”

“I suppose I could,” the Augurey mused. “Or maybe you’d like to know the reason why. I never told you.”

“You’re so desperate,” Scorpius looked up, despite the pain, “you’re so desperate for everybody to know how powerful you are, and how much you’ve done. Why?”

“Because when people don’t listen, you demand attention,” the Augurey snapped.

“You have power here. People listen to you. Why do you still feel a need to do – this?”

“To do what?” the Augurey sounded as if she could kill.

“To remind everyone how amazing you are,” Scorpius said quietly. “Not that you are. That’s just what you seem to think.”

When the foot flew into his stomach, Scorpius expressed no surprise. He had expected it. He had attempted to provoke her. He knew that. He just wished she would get it over with. Death was coming. The least she could do was provide it.

“So, Scorpius,” she crouched beside him. “I was going to kill you now. But I’ve just remembered something.”

“And what’s that?”

“How annoyingly impertinent you are. And how I have wanted to punish you for it since we met.”

Scorpius didn’t respond, closing his eyes. She would torture him and she would kill him and it would be welcome. It would all be welcome.

And the pain did come.

It split through his limbs, tearing him apart as it ran through his flesh. He screamed as invisible blunted knives were driven into his body, over and over and over, until there was no place not covered in invisible wounds.

Scorpius sobbed and cried and pleaded with her to stop, to end it all, but the only response came in the form of laughter, maniacal and uncontrolled.

It would end soon.

She would get bored soon.

She would stop soon.

It never came. The pain only stopped when something exploded behind them and the door flew across the room. Scorpius curled in on himself, not looking at who the attacker was. He could barely find the strength to breathe, let alone move from the floor.

If they killed him, he would welcome it. If they killed him, they were merciful. And they would kill her too. Maybe they would even end the pain. All the pain. It would be better if they won. So he didn’t move.

And then a hand landed on his back, seizing his robes and pulling him to his feet. He stumbled with them as they pushed him to the fireplace, forcing him into the flames and throwing some powder towards him.

It was only when the shout of ‘Malfoy Manor’ rang through the room that Scorpius realised who had come to his rescue. He caught half a glimpse of his dad’s white-blond hair as he was sucked into the Floo Network, and the words that he wanted to say died on his lips.

He hadn’t escaped. He knew he hadn’t escaped. As soon as the Augurey had dealt with his dad, she’d come after him, and he’d die. And it would all be in vain. All of it. Maybe he’d see his mum. Maybe…maybe he’d see Albus. Although, Albus had never existed. Albus couldn’t be in the afterlife.

When the fire spat him out into the dark, twisted version of his home, he barely had time to move before another pair of hands grabbed him and he felt a sharp jerk behind his naval. Like a Portkey. Someone had taken him on a Portkey.

It took a long time for the world to stop spinning and start making a bit of sense again when the Portkey ended, and Scorpius glanced around himself, trying to work out where they were. They appeared to have landed in some sort of cave, next to a small fire. Scorpius glanced at the person who had brought him, watching them as they went from one bag to another, taking out several small packages.

When he turned back, Scorpius squinted in the half-light, trying to get a decent look at him.

The man had short black hair and oval glasses. He wore dark, baggy clothes in what Scorpius’ assumed was an attempt to remain anonymous, and he smiled at Scorpius as he sat again.

“Here,” he said quietly, passing him a small package. “Eat.”

Scorpius looked at him a moment longer and, when he nodded, he all but tore through the paper, stuffing the food into his mouth as quickly as he could. Something in his mind had made the decision to trust this strange man in front of him, and he couldn’t afford to question it now.

“Thank you,” he muttered, between mouthfuls.

“Don’t make yourself sick,” the man said. “We haven’t got time for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your father called in a favour I owed him and told me to get you to here.”

“Is he coming?”

Scorpius stopped himself. He knew he had asked a stupid question. The chance that his dad had survived his encounter with the Augurey, especially after what he had done, was incredibly low. His dad was dead.

It took a moment for the full meaning of the thought to hit.

His dad was dead.

His dad was dead.

His dad was dead.

He screamed, dropping the food and curling in on himself as the thought hit him over and over. They couldn’t come back from that. They couldn’t come back from the deaths. Before, when it had been the people he didn’t know, it had hurt. It had scared him. But it hadn’t brought his world crashing down completely.

But now, now his dad was gone. And everything that they had built between the two of them, comfort and warmth, and some sort of home, it had all gone up in smoke. Scorpius screamed again.

He couldn’t draw breath. He had almost forgotten how to breathe. And the world was crashing in around him. Shaking and screaming and dying and falling. And rising. Hell was rising.

Hell had won. His dad had died and Hell had won.

“Scorpius,” the man interrupted his thoughts sharply. “Scorpius, you need to listen to me.”

“He’s dead,” Scorpius whimpered. “He’s dead because of me.”

“He is not dead because of you,” the man said. “And by the look of what he gave me, he might not be dead for much longer.”

“What are you talking about?”

The man passed him another package and Scorpius looked at it. He opened it a little more slowly, partly due to the mounting exhaustion inside him. But when he did, he gasped.

“How did he get this?”

“He was the Head of Magical Law Enforcement,” the man shrugged. “Don’t ask me.”

“Who – who are you?” Scorpius asked suddenly.

“My name is Kasper,” he said. “I am – well, was – an intern and your dad got me out of quite a bit of trouble for something. He’s been hanging the favour over my head ever since.”

“And how does he know I needed this?”

“They didn’t keep it quiet,” Kasper muttered. “Pretty much everyone knew that Scorpius Malfoy committed treasonous acts and attempted to rewrite history, and had been sentenced to death.”

“He thinks I can do it? He knows what I’m trying to do is right?”

“Don’t ask me, kid,” Kasper said. “I was told to get you where you needed to be.”

“The lake,” Scorpius said quickly. “Hogwarts Lake.”

“Of course it’s there,” Kasper muttered. “Why can’t shit just be simple?”

“I’m sorry,” Scorpius said quickly. “I just – all I need to do is get in that lake. Please. Then this – this will all be over.”

“Fine,” Kasper sighed. “Fine. Yes. I can get you inside the grounds.”

“Thank you,” Scorpius said quickly. “Thank you so much.”

“You don’t have a wand, do you?”

“No.”

“Get some sleep. I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you.”

“Sleep.”

Scorpius nodded, lying down and curling up on the floor. He struggled a little closer to the fire for warmth, and then closed his eyes. Just a few more hours. A few more hours.

* * *

When Scorpius woke up, he did not immediately register that he was alone. The fire had burnt down to embers and he shivered, wrapping his arms around himself in an effort to keep warm. He glanced around at the cave, noting the water running down the walls with a half-smile. It reminded him of something, though he couldn’t place exactly what. It didn’t matter now.

A couple of minutes later Kasper came back, passing Scorpius another small package. He opened it, starting to eat the food inside, a little less quickly than he had a few hours before.

“Thanks,” he murmured.

“I found a way in,” Kasper sat down opposite him. “But we haven’t got a window for much longer.”

“Okay,” Scorpius nodded.

“I couldn’t find a wand. When we get in that Lake, you take mine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are you sure this will work?”

“Fairly.”

“Brilliant. This is brilliant, isn’t it?”

Scorpius didn’t reply, biting his lip as he tried to search for some assurance that they would succeed. But he had nothing. He only had a plan and a hope that, this time, it might work. Of course, they had the thousands of Dementors to contend with. And the Augurey knew what they were trying to do now.

“The Dementors,” he said quietly. “There are going to be so many Dementors.”

“I had a few favours I called in,” Kasper said. “Do you know Edward Rosier?”

“Not without going into my dark memories.”

“I’ll spare you the trouble. His name is also Teddy Lupin and he was adopted after the war. Part of Voldemort’s effort to show he was merciful or some shit like that. He’s agreed to help, but he can only be missing from his post for so long before they notice.”

“So we’re going now?”

“Drink something, and then yes.”

Scorpius obliged, trying not to make a mess of it. His movements were still slow and jerky, and his mouth felt so dry that it could have been chipping off in little pieces. But he managed to get a little of the water down his throat, swallowing slowly, and then he looked at Kasper, who had stood and picked up a backpack.

“Let’s go.”

Scorpius stood up, stumbling a little as he put his weight on his legs for the first time in days. Kasper caught him, giving him little warning before he disapparated, appearing by the Hogwarts wall. Scorpius stumbled again, leaning on a tree to support himself. He wasn’t in a fit state to do this. It would be a miracle if they succeeded, but they had no other choice.

He looked up as a figure approached them, his neon blue hair almost flashing through the darkness. He grinned at Scorpius, who nodded back.

“Is the hair really necessary, Lupin?” Kasper muttered.

“I wanted Scorpius to feel a bit more at ease,” Teddy shrugged. “And if I’d had a choice, I’d have wanted blue hair.”

“Thank you,” Scorpius mumbled. “You’re welcome. Now, are we ready to get through this wall and reset time?”

Scorpius didn’t know how Teddy managed to maintain such an upbeat, bubbly personality, but he didn’t question it. That wasn’t important. That was something he might even be able to ask the other Teddy. But it wasn’t important now.

He followed Teddy and Kasper to a minute gap in the wall, which they prompted him to squeeze through. He did his best, all but collapsing temporarily when he made it through. Teddy followed him, pulling him to his feet and helping him remain upright.

“Thank you,” Scorpius mumbled. “Get this right and we’ll be thanking you.”

Scorpius nodded, looking at Kasper as he made it through the wall. He straightened up, looking back at both of them.

“You’ve still got the Time-Turner?”

“Yeah,” Scorpius nodded. “Then let’s keep going.”

The three of them walked through the forest, a place long devoid of any actual danger – the centaurs had been killed in the war, and everything else soon after. The world was silent as they walked, probably towards the lake. Scorpius didn’t know where they were leading him, so he followed. It was his best chance to survive. The world’s best chance.

Eventually, they ended up at the water and Scorpius stared out over the black. In the early morning light, he struggled to tell the difference between darkness and dementor, but he didn’t let himself panic. He couldn’t panic. They would find him, and everything would go wrong.

“Ready?” Kasper said.

“Here,” Teddy pulled a wand out of his pocket and Scorpius stared at it.

“That’s my – how did you get that?”

“I work in Law Enforcement. I know. It’s fucked up. But I managed to get hold of this. Swapped it with a fake.”

“Thank you,” Scorpius took it slowly, running a finger up and down the carvings. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now let’s go.”

Scorpius nodded, taking the Gillyweed that Kasper had pulled out of the bag. He shoved it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing as quickly as possible. He had spent time reading about the effects of the stuff and the pain and lack of breath hardly surprised him. As soon as he started to suffocate, he dived into the water, taking in deep lungful’s of water.

He poked his head above the surface again, and Teddy and Kasper nodded at him. He waved a goodbye, and then he dived below the water, swimming towards the location of the Second Task before he pulled the Time-Turner out and started to turn it.

_Five._

He would see Albus soon.

_Four._

Everything would be entirely okay.

_Three._

He would survive.

_Two. _

He could heal.

_One._

* * *

Albus looked at Delphi, and she nodded towards a figure approaching through the water. Cedric, in his Hufflepuff bathing suit, gliding as quickly as he could, with a strange bubble resting over his mouth. Albus raised his wand quickly, trying to force everything he could into his Engorgement Charm.

The light shot through the water and hit Cedric, square in the face. The look of shock on his face was evident as his head started to expand, lifting him upwards through the water as he fought to stay below.

Albus looked behind himself, to see Delphi smirking nastily, and then he turned back, attempting to not be too unnerved by it. Cedric had started to shrink again, and he stared, glancing back to look at Delphi.

Except she had disappeared, with the Time-Turner, and he, Albus, was stuck. He looked around wildly, trying to work out where he could go, almost forgetting to breathe when he saw Scorpius swimming towards him, holding another Time-Turner.

In the half-light, he looked terrible. Albus swam to him, pushing back a thousand questions he had about how Scorpius had ended up there, and Scorpius looked at him slowly. The Time-Turner in his hands had started to shake violently, but he couldn’t keep hold of it.

Albus wrapped his arms around his friend, taking the Time-Turner and keeping his breath held as the Gillyweed wore off and they were sucked back to the present.

When the light stopped flashing, he pocketed the Time-Turner and pulled Scorpius up towards the surface. As they broke through the water, Scorpius started to cough and splutter and Albus swam to the shore as best he could.

Scorpius fought to sit up as soon as they were on some sort of stable ground, even though he hadn’t stopped coughing up his lungs.

“Delphi–”

“She’s not here,” Albus said. “She disappeared. Why are you here?”

“Help…find – find someone.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Adult,” Scorpius collapsed. “Find – adult.”

“Okay,” Albus nodded. “Okay, come on.”

He wrapped an arm around Scorpius and helped him to his feet as he continued coughing. Now that they were no longer underwater, he could see Scorpius properly, and he almost wished that he couldn’t.

He had large dark shadows under his eyes, and he looked hollow and gaunt. And scared. Albus had never seen his friend looked so scared. He limped, his eyes starting to drift closed as they made their way up the grounds. Albus kept looking around for someone, or anyone, to help them, but everyone appeared to be in class.

Everyone except–

“SCORPIUS!”

The half-scream came from the castle steps and Albus looked up as he saw a figure sprinting towards them, apparently alone. He stopped walking and Scorpius collapsed again, somehow growing paler than he already was.

“Him…” he whimpered. “He’s…”

“It’s your dad,” Albus crouched down beside him. “Scorpius, what’s going on?”

“No – no – he…”

He trailed off as Draco skidded to a halt, looking between the two of them. He started to speak angrily and Albus listened silently, unable to say anything. Draco stopped, however, when Scorpius pulled himself up and wrapped his arms around his dad, starting to sob.

“Scorpius?”

“She – she – where is she…”

“She’s gone,” Albus said quickly. “I – I don’t know where. But she’s gone.”

“What is he talking about?”

“I don’t know.”

“You _don’t _know? You were with him.”

“He wasn’t,” Scorpius croaked. “I was alone.”

“Dad,” Albus started slowly. “Dad won’t see that.”

“Don’t worry about him,” Draco said. “He had a rather legendary shouting match with your mother and has since admitted he made a mistake about my son.”

“Good,” Albus said quietly. “Good. He – we should go back to the castle.”

“Scorpius,” Draco murmured. “Scorpius, can you hear me? We’re going back to the castle. Okay?”

Scorpius mumbled a response and Draco wrapped an arm around his torso, helping him to his feet again. Albus came in beside him, taking his other side, and Scorpius leaned into him, breathing heavily.

Whatever he had been through, it appeared his exhaustion had begun to catch up with him, and he struggled to keep himself upright or awake. The cold couldn’t be doing him any good either.

They walked slowly, stopping every few feet. Albus had started to shiver at this point, the breeze a little too biting to ignore, but he didn’t say anything. When they got back to the castle, they would all be okay. And maybe he could talk to Scorpius about Delphi.

She had, quite literally, just disappeared. She had smiled knowingly, as if she knew that something would go wrong, that she _wanted _it, and then she had disappeared as soon as their actions had been reversed. Albus had the suspicion that he was no longer a Gryffindor, that they had returned to the first version of events, and he couldn’t help but be grateful.

Even if nothing had worked, at least he had Scorpius, and he had his family. He would be okay.

When they reached the castle steps, Scorpius collapsed again, curling up on the steps and shivering violently. He started to cry and Draco pulled off his cloak, wrapping it around his son. Scorpius clung to it desperately, and Albus bit his lip. He was responsible for this. He had caused Scorpius this pain. And all he could do was watch and wait for someone to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius isn't dead. I'm going to hang onto that throughout the rest of this...  
Thanks for reading  
Kudos and comments appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	6. Putting Pressure On The Weak

Albus didn’t object when Draco instructed him to go and find help. Scorpius needed his dad more, he understood that. And he didn’t deserve to be allowed near his friend when he was responsible for the damage that had been caused.

He hurried to the Hospital Wing, thanking Merlin that there weren’t many people inside, and explained to Madam Pomfrey that something had happened to Scorpius and they didn’t know what. She nodded and followed him back down to the castle steps.

By the time they arrived, Albus’ parents had found Draco, and it looked as if a full-on screaming match was on the verge of taking place. When Albus appeared, his mum wrapped him in a large hug, despite the fact that lake water still dripped from his robes, creating a small puddle on the floor whenever he stayed still for an amount of time. 

“What happened?” Harry demanded as soon as his mum had let go. “Where did Scorpius take you?”

“Scorpius had nothing to do with this,” Albus tried not to get too angry. “I left – well, not alone, but not with Scorpius. I don’t know how he got here.”

“Perhaps if we could continue this once Mr Malfoy is in the Hospital Wing,” Madam Pomfrey muttered, pulling out her wand.

“Sorry.”

The group watched silently as Madam Pomfrey lifted Scorpius onto a stretcher, and then followed her up into the castle to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey began immediately once Scorpius was lying on a bed. He had stopped shivering, mercifully, but he had not moved independently since his latest collapse.

Albus stayed with him for as long as possible, until Madam Pomfrey declared that Scorpius was severely unwell, but stable, and the adults all rounded on him again.

“Not here,” he muttered before any of them could speak. “Don’t shout at me here.”

At that moment, the Hospital Wing doors almost flew open and Professor McGonagall entered, a look of thunder that rivalled Harry’s fixed on her face.

“I’ll explain,” Albus said quickly. “I just – not here. Please.”

* * *

“So, to be clear,” Professor McGonagall fumed, “you illegally jumped off the Hogwarts Express. You invaded and stole from the Ministry of Magic. You took it upon yourself to change time, whereupon you disappeared two people. And your response to disappearing Hugo and Rose Granger-Weasley was to go back in time again – and now you don’t know what happened?”

“I don’t,” Albus confirmed. “I – I acted rashly and stupidly – and I fully understand if you expel me. But please don’t punish Scorpius; this was my fault, not his.”

“What about that other woman? You mentioned she helped you.”

“Delphi? I don’t know. I thought she was a friend. But Scorpius seemed so scared of her earlier. I don’t know.”

“This is all you know?”

“I asked Delphi to get me out. She did. We went back. And then Scorpius was there and Delphi was gone. I don’t know what happened to Scorpius.”

“We have to ask him when he wakes up,” Harry said.

“You are not asking my son anything,” Draco said sharply.

“Draco–”

“I will ask him what happened, by all means. But you are not interrogating my son.”

“Fine,” Harry sighed. “But I need to know what happened.”

“Are you suggesting that this was somehow my son’s fault?”

“I don’t know but–”

“Dad,” Albus snapped. “This was my fault. I left. Whatever happened to Scorpius happened because he got caught up in everything and that isn’t his fault.”

Silence fell and Albus turned back to Professor McGonagall, who was watching him carefully.

“I should expel you,” she said quietly, “but all things considered, especially now, I think it might be safer for you to remain at Hogwarts. You are in detention, well you can consider yourself in detention for the rest of the year. Christmas is cancelled for you, and you can forget about visiting Hogsmeade ever again. And that’s just the start.”

“What about Scorpius?”

“What about him?”

“Are you punishing him too? He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Mr Malfoy has detention for a week, but no. He is not in as much trouble as you are.”

“Thank you,” Albus smiled, relieved. “Thank you, Professor.”

“Get out, the lot of you,” she said sharply. “Find the Time-Turner. And find out what happened to Scorpius.”

After Albus had changed out of his sopping robes, he went down to the Hospital Wing and sat nervously beside Draco, watching Scorpius’ chest rise and fall in vaguely regular breaths.

“Madam Pomfrey says that he hasn’t eaten or drunk properly for days,” Draco said quietly. “Whoever did this to him wanted to cause harm.”

“I’m sorry,” Albus mumbled. “If you don’t – if you want me to stay away from him – now – I understand. I – this – it’s my fault.”

“I do not think that would be a good idea.”

“Sir?”

“I have rarely seen him more upset that he was when your father kept the two of you apart. I don’t think doing that again would do him any good.”

“I won’t do anything again,” Albus promised. “I’ll listen to him. He’s more careful than me. He’s better than me.”

Draco chuckled slightly and Albus bit his lip. He didn’t know what else to say. Another apology? A promise that he would do better? There didn’t seem to be anything that he could say to make it better. Better for anyone. He had caused Scorpius so much pain.

Not simply by going back the second time.

But the first trip had driven a rift between them and they had never resolved it. Albus had never had the chance. The only option for getting out had been to escape in that way, so he had never apologised for what he had done, what he had pushed Scorpius to.

He would, he decided. As soon as they were alone, he would apologise for everything that he had done.

“Are you going to ask him what happened?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t want to,” Draco muttered. “I don’t want to force it from him; I want him to talk when he’s ready. But I would rather your father didn’t have a reason to be anywhere near him. So yes, I will ask him.”

“If it was Delphi,” Albus said slowly, “if it was Delphi, I swear I’ll kill her.”

“She helped you and you’re willing to turn on her that quickly?”

“If she knew what was going to happen,” Albus pointed out, “and it feels like she did, then she knew that this would happen to Scorpius. And she still let it happen. Which means she doesn’t care about us in any way that she’s claiming to.”

“You sound like Scorpius.”

“I know. He keeps telling me that.”

Short silence.

“Albus?”

“Yeah. Sir?”

“When I have to ask him questions, could you stay here?”

“Uh – yes. Of course.”

“Thank you. I don’t – something happened when he saw me. I don’t want to put him on edge from the moment he wakes up, but if I do, I think he’d rather you were here when I have to ask questions.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you.”

Draco sighed and Albus bit his lip again. If he kept doing it, he would end up bleeding, but he didn’t care. He needed some relief from the worry and fear building in his chest. He couldn’t shake the fact that he had caused Scorpius to suffer, and he would never forgive himself for that, even if Scorpius did.

* * *

The first thing Scorpius noticed upon starting to wake up was how little pain he now felt. All of it had been numbed, and he wasn’t really hungry anymore. Or thirsty.

Maybe he was dead. Maybe this was what death felt like. Maybe it was true and total relief from the everlasting pain.

But he had made it back. He had made it back to Albus, to his _dad_. He couldn’t be dead. Or maybe he hadn’t even made it back. Maybe the whole thing had been some sort of fever dream that had flashed through his mind as he had drowned or been shot with a killing curse. Or something.

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to adjust to the brightness of the room. Bright. Airy. Warm. Smelt like various potions.

The Hospital Wing.

He sat up slowly, meeting eyes with his dad as he settled against the pillows. His dad smiled softly, and he tried to smile back. Albus sat on his other side, looking at the floor, and Scorpius reached out to take his hand.

“Albus?”

“Scorpius?” Albus jumped. “Sorry. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Scorpius murmured. “Where – why am I – what happened?”

“We brought you up here after I found both of you. You’ve been asleep since.”

“How long?”

“Two hours, maybe. I’m surprised. I thought you’d be asleep for longer.”

“I slept before I came back,” Scorpius said quietly. 

“When did you last eat?”

“When I slept.”

“Before that?”

“Don’t know.”

“Okay,” his dad nodded. “Okay.”

“What happened to the – to Delphi?” Scorpius blurted, tightening his hands into fists. “She – I saw her.”

“She disappeared,” Albus said. “I don’t know where she is. But they’re looking for her.”

“They won’t find her. She’s powerful. She’s too powerful.”

Scorpius stopped himself. He didn’t want to talk about what had happened. Talking about it would make it real, would make it more than a violent memory. But they’d want to know, wouldn’t they? For one stupid ‘official’ reason or other. They would insist on knowing what she had done.

“Do they know what happened?” he asked quietly.

“They don’t,” his dad said. 

“Do they want to know?”

“Yes,” his dad nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“I – I can’t,” Scorpius mumbled. “I – don’t want – I’m not ready.”

“I know. You don’t have to. I can speak to Potter.”

“He wants it? For the Ministry?”

“Yes.”

“Do I have to tell him everything?”

“You don’t have to tell him anything,” his dad said sharply. “Potter can talk to me if he has a problem with that.”

Scorpius nodded, biting his lip. He needed to say. He wouldn’t get out of talking, no matter what his dad did. He knew that Harry Potter would get what he wanted.

“The world resurrected was Voldemort’s world,” he said quietly. “Cedric killed Neville. Neville didn’t kill Nagini. Harry died. Delphi was one of the people running the place.”

“Shit,” Albus breathed. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, mate.”

“I got out,” Scorpius shrugged. “Just.”

“You don’t have to say more than that,” his dad said quickly, “unless you want to.”

“I don’t,” Scorpius looked up at his dad. “I’m not – I’m not ready yet.”

“That’s okay.”

Scorpius nodded, looking down at his hands. He would never be ready to talk about any of it. Not in detail.

Not with the details of how many hours he had spent on the wall of the Augurey’s office. Not with the detail of his father throwing him towards the fire before falling in front of him, all to save his life. Not with the detail that they would be curious in. Not that they would ever say that.

“I should speak to Potter,” his dad said quietly. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Scorpius nodded. “Yeah. It’s fine.”

His dad stood up, planting a kiss on his forehead, and Scorpius watched him leave silently. Then, he looked at Albus, biting his lip. He had things to say, but he didn’t want to say them now. And he did. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops, shout that he loved Albus Potter and that it would never end.

“Albus?”

“Yes?” Albus jumped slightly. “Yes, sorry.”

“I know you’re blaming yourself for this,” Scorpius murmured. “But don’t.”

“It was my fault.”

“Yeah, but it’s also because of you that I even made it back.”

“Scorp?”

“It’s stupid,” Scorpius muttered. “It’s all stupid. And it isn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“The first morning, I woke up with an awful headache. And it got worse and worse because I had two sets of memories in my head. And I was – I was more than willing to give up this version of the world because it seemed so horrible and nothing was ever good. And then I thought about you. The brown-haired boy who wouldn’t leave me alone until I insisted on myself coming back to this version of myself.”

“Me?”

“Do I know any other brown-haired boys?”

“I guess not,” Albus smiled. “So, that helped you?”

Scorpius took a deep breath, biting his lip again. He needed to correct that habit at some point. It didn’t do him any good to chew through his own skin.

“Once,” he started to murmur, “once, mum and dad were dancing around the living room, just laughing and giggling and loving each other more than I could even understand. Afterwards – afterwards, I asked mum how – how it was possible to love someone that much.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she couldn’t explain it,” Scorpius shrugged. “She said it was like the love she had for me, but different, at the same time. She said I’d understand it one day, but she couldn’t explain it. And I understand why now.”

“You do?”

“I understand because I feel that way about someone.”

“Oh,” Albus sat up a little. “Oh. Okay. Can I ask who?”

“You look upset,” Scorpius frowned. “Are you okay?”

“I guess – I don’t know,” Albus shook his head. “No. It’s nothing. Ignore me.”

“No. What was it?”

“Well, there isn’t much point,” Albus muttered. “You like someone. So – um – yeah. Do you want to ask them out?”

“Would you say yes?”

* * *

Albus froze as Scorpius asked him the question. Would he say yes to a date? Would he, if he were the person Scorpius liked, say yes? Of course he would. He loved his best friend. But his best friend liked someone else, and he couldn’t just announce his feelings out of the blue.

“If you asked me out?” Albus said slowly. “I guess – well, you’re nice. And it would be fun and stuff. But who are you planning to ask out?”

“You’re so oblivious,” Scorpius shook his head exasperatedly. “Albus. I want to ask you out.”

“You do?”

“Yes,” Scorpius smiled. “Yes, I do.”

“You like me?”

“Pretty sure at this point.”

“I – I…”

“You don’t have to say yes,” Scorpius said quickly. “If you don’t – it’s okay if you don’t like me back.”

Albus didn’t know why it was taking him so long to respond. He knew what his answer would be. Of course it would be yes. Of course he wanted to go on a date with Scorpius. And yet he couldn’t get the words out. He couldn’t form the words to explain how he felt.

Scorpius didn’t know about how he felt. No one knew. No one knew that he was gay, and he had pretty much accepted it, and didn’t mind it. But Scorpius deserved to know. Especially now. Scorpius deserved to know how his best friend felt about him. If only he could form the words.

“I’m – I’m gay,” he blurted, trying to keep his voice quiet.

“Albus?”

“I’m gay,” he repeated. “And I – I like you too.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” Albus nodded.

Scorpius reached out to take his hand and pull him closer. Albus sat on the bed beside him, an arm around his shoulders. Scorpius leaned his head on his shoulder, breathing in and out softly.

“So, do you want to go on a date?” he asked quietly.

“Where to?” Albus said.

“Maybe Hogsmeade or somewhere. Once they catch – her.”

“Yeah,” Albus nodded. “Yeah. That would be really nice.”

He wrapped his other arm around Scorpius, and Scorpius sat up slightly, kissing him on the cheek. Albus turned his head and kissed Scorpius back, this time connecting their lips softly. And Scorpius didn’t pull away, starting to run his hands through Albus’ hair. Albus pulled him closer, trying to close the remaining space between them.

It felt like stars. Albus didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean in his mind, but it seemed like the right description. Stars. Bright and soft and beautiful and loving. Scorpius. Angels. Scorpius was an angel. Albus had fallen in love with an angel that loved him back.

After that, the pair stayed in the Hospital Wing, sitting and just talking. Albus didn’t push Scorpius to say anything about what had happened, and when the Hospital Wing doors opened, he scrambled back to his chair as he saw his father approach. Scorpius frowned at him slightly and he shook his head. He wasn’t ready to attempt that bridge. Not yet.

“Dad,” he said as Harry sat down beside him.

“How are you both?” Harry asked. “Draco told me what happened.”

“Talking about that isn’t a good idea,” Albus muttered.

“And they haven’t found the Time-Turner yet,” Harry continued. “They’re negotiating with the Merpeople to dredge the lake.”

“Right.”

“Why did you try to do this, Albus?”

Albus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course there would be an interrogation over it. Of course his father wouldn’t look in the mirror and see what had pushed his son over the edge. Of course it would be solely on him.

He understood that he had to take responsibility for his actions. He understood that what had happened was his fault. But he didn’t want to get into another fight with his dad. Not now. And not in front of Scorpius.

“I thought,” he started slowly, “I thought I could change things. Cedric – it’s unfair.”

“Of course it’s unfair,” Harry snapped. “Don’t you think I know that? I was there. I saw him die!”

“I know.”

“But to do this – to risk _all _this.”

“I know.”

Albus reached for Scorpius’ hand, before stopping himself, knowing that it would not go down well with his father. Not at the moment.

“You aren’t supposed to volunteer for adventure,” Harry said angrily, near shouting. “I didn’t. I was forced into it. You did something _really _reckless – something really stupid –   
could have destroyed everything.”

“I know,” Albus tried not to let his sob come through. “Okay. I know.”

Silence fell for a few moments, and Scorpius took Albus’ hand gently. Albus smiled at him gratefully, trying to savour the strength. 

“Well, I was wrong too,” Harry continued, a little quieter. “You’re not Voldemort’s son, Scorpius. You’re not the black cloud.”

Silence.

“And I’ve locked away the map. You won’t see it again.”

“Because that’s what you want or because mum yelled at you until you realised you fucked up?” Albus muttered.

“Both,” Harry admitted. “Your mum yelled at me a lot. And rightly so. I did mess up. I’m sorry, Albus.”

“Don’t apologise to me. You didn’t send me to hell.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said again. “I’m sorry I put both of you through this. You – you really scared us.”

“Really scared you,” Albus repeated, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes.”

“I thought Harry Potter wasn’t afraid of anything,” he spat in response, unable to contain his anger.

“Is that how I make you feel?”

“I don’t know,” Albus murmured. “I don’t know anymore. Am I supposed to?”

“I don’t try to scare you.”

“I don’t try to be a disappointment. Still, we’re here.”

“Albus…”

“Dad.”

“Are you okay?”

“No. When was I last okay?”

“I’m sorry, Albus.”

“Same.”

“I should go.”

“Fine.”

Albus watched him stand and walk away again, and he sighed. It was stupid. The entire thing was stupid.

“I’m sorry,” he said to Scorpius once the door was closed.

“It’s fine. Are you okay?”

“I just wish he’d fuck off sometimes,” Albus shrugged. “I don’t think it’s occurred to him that the rest of us need – time. We can’t all just bounce back and shit.”

“It’ll be all right,” Scorpius said. 

“Yeah,” Albus nodded. “Yeah. Shit. You’re consoling me when you’ve been through hell and I just fucked up.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Scorpius smiled. “I’ll be okay.”

“No. No, I’m going to worry about you.”

Scorpius rolled his eyes, shaking his head slowly, and Albus reached out to take his hand. The things that still needed to happen pressed into his mind, and he bit his lip. Another time. They could think about that another time.

Except they might not have that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo this isn't a slow burn. This isn't a slow burn and I hope @sunshineScorpius is glad because she knows my slow burns a little too well.  
Thanks for reading.  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	7. The Last Night Of the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: pain - just, in general - pain

That night, before he bid goodnight to Scorpius, Albus hissed something to him to warn him to expect him back. He had to pretend that everything was getting back to normal, so that when they could be sure that they were alone, they could end all of it. End it properly.

When he got back to the Common Room, he sunk down in a chair, finally alone for the first time that day. Delphi was evil. Delphi had helped run Voldemort’s world. Delphi had likely been responsible for harming Scorpius. And Albus had trusted her. Albus had relied on her. Albus had started to need her.

He wanted it to be lie. He wanted it all to be some huge, fucked-up joke. Because if it wasn’t, if Delphi had been playing him for whatever means, that meant she didn’t care about him. That meant that the only adult that he had felt the ability to put trust into had been a lie, a stupid dream, because he’d been too eager to trust.

And now he didn’t know how to move forward.

Part of him, a small, stupid, selfish part of him, wanted to shut it all out and carry on as if nothing had happened. But he knew what he actually wanted. He wanted an adult that he could actually trust and confide in. He wanted to trust someone he was supposed to trust. And because that wasn’t really an option, he had turned to the first person who gave him that.

And she had turned out to be evil and insane. Probably. You had to be insane to work for that world. You had to be insane to do to a person what had been done to Scorpius. Surely. Surely you had to be insane for that.

He shook the thought. It didn’t matter. He could sort his own emotional issues after tonight was over. Until then, he just had to make it through the night. And everything would be okay. Everything would be entirely okay because it would all be over.

A few hours later, Albus grabbed the Invisibility Cloak (something he had borrowed from James on his extended route back to the Common Room), and snuck back to the Hospital Wing with the Time-Turner tucked into his pocket. It would all be over soon. Very soon.

He pushed the Hospital Wing door open silently, stepping inside and glancing around before he pulled off the cloak. Scorpius sat up in bed, staring at him in slight shock, and Albus smiled. 

“Hey,” he walked towards him. “How are you feeling?”

“All right,” Scorpius shrugged. “Why – why are you here now?”

“Assurance of privacy,” Albus explained. “I don’t want anyone to hear this.”

“What’s ‘this’?”

“I didn’t lose the Time-Turner.”

“Oh right.”

“I don’t trust them,” Albus admitted. “I don’t trust them not to keep it again. I mean, they would keep it. And after this – no one – no one should – I want to destroy it.”

“Now?”

“Yes,” Albus nodded. “I was going to go up to the Owlery and do it there. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I just needed to tell you I was going to do it. You deserve to know.”

“I’ll come,” Scorpius said. “Do you have it with you?”

“Yes. It’s in my pocket.”

“Okay.”

Scorpius pulled his duvet back and stood up slowly. Albus wrapped an arm around him and pulled the cloak over both of them. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” Scorpius nodded. “Just – you know – tired and stuff.”

“Okay. Well, we’ll take it slow.”

“Thanks.”

Together, the two of them walked out the Hospital Wing, taking it slowly up the stairs. More than once, Scorpius had to stop for a breather, but Albus didn’t mind. They had time. They would be okay. Delphi couldn’t get inside the castle. They would be okay. And once the Time-Turner was gone, she wouldn’t be able to hurt them.

It would all be over once the Time-Turner had been destroyed.

They just had to make it that far. And they would. Of course they would. The only thing that could actually stop them was Delphi, and she wouldn’t make it into the castle. The security was too good for her to slip past undetected. If she had led Voldemort’s world, then she had to be powerful. There was no way that couldn’t be detected by the wards. That was the one downside to being a naturally powerful person.

When they made it to the top of the Owlery, Albus sat down, swinging his legs over the ledge and staring out over the grounds. 

“Albus, be careful,” Scorpius hissed. 

“I’ll be fine,” Albus smiled. “Come here.”

Scorpius sat beside him, albeit a little nervously, and Albus put an arm around him as he pointed to the sky.

“The stars are out,” he whispered. “Which means you’re up there.”

“Me?” Scorpius said doubtfully.

“Yes, you. You; _Scorpius_ Malfoy. Come on. I’m not that stupid.”

“Do you know where I am?”

“Right,” Albus reached his hand out, “there.” He booped Scorpius’ nose.

“Very funny,” Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Come on, Albie.”

“You’re there,” Albus pointed upwards, smiling.

Scorpius nodded and Albus reached into his pocket, pulling out the Time-Turner. Scorpius took it slowly, looking at it.

“Thank you for doing this,” he said. “It’s – it’s the right thing to do.”

“Hermione told me what dad said when they first found it,” Albus murmured. “She said that dad had wanted to try it out then and there but ‘wiser heads prevailed’. It’s stupid.

Giving it back to him would be stupid. Would probably get us all killed.”

“They’ll be angry when they find out we’ve done this.”

“Do you want to stop?”

“No.”

Albus nodded, pulling out his wand and resting it against the metal. What spell? There were a hundred options, each with its own pros and cons. But what they needed most was something quick and subtle. Something that would get the job done and wouldn’t wake up Hogwarts or leave too much of a trace.

“What spell?” he asked. “We could use Expulso.”

“Expulso and we’ll be clearing bits of Time-Turner from the Owlery for days.”

“Bombarda?”

“And wake up everyone in Hogwarts?” Scorpius gestured half-wildly to the school below them. “What about Stupefy? They were originally destroyed using Stupefy.”

“Okay,” Albus nodded. “Yes. Okay. Good idea.”

“You think?”

“Scorp – you are literally made of good ideas and common sense. Of course it’s a good idea.”

“Thank you,” Scorpius smiled.

“Do you want to do the honours?”

“Are you sure?”

“If you want to destroy it, it’s yours.”

“Thank you.”

Albus smiled as Scorpius pulled out his wand slowly, turning around to place the Time-Turner on the floor behind them. He took a deep breath, and then he muttered the spell. Albus gasped slightly at the bright flash of light.

Half a second later, the Time-Turner had faded into nothing more than a reasonably-sized pile of glittery stuff. Albus ran a finger through it, picking a few specks up and smiling.

“It’s weird,” he said quietly. “It’s – it’s weird. You wouldn’t expect this from – that. But you get it. It’s weird.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” Albus nodded. “Yeah. You?”

“Tired.”

“Yeah. We should probably get you back to the Hospital Wing.”

Albus stood up, helping Scorpius to his feet. He bundled the cloak under his arm, deciding that it didn’t really matter if they got caught now. They could just claim they were walking, or take an extra detention. Though, Albus didn’t know whether he would have any time for extra detentions.

Scorpius leaned into him, breathing out slowly. A feeling of sheer relief washed over the both of them as they glanced back at the mess again.

“It’s over,” Scorpius murmured. “It’s – it’s done.”

“It’s over,” Albus nodded. “We’re safe. No one else is going to get hurt.”

“What about – about her?”

“She can’t get to us while we’re in the castle,” Albus said. “And the Ministry will find her before we have to leave the grounds.”

“What if they don’t?”

“They will,” Albus promised. “They’re good at finding people. Unless it’s us. But anyway, we should get back. It’s late.”

Scorpius nodded, and Albus squeezed his hand in an attempt to be vaguely reassuring. He would never truly understand what Scorpius had experienced, but he could do his best to be a comfort. It had only been a few hours, and Scorpius already seemed different. Quieter. Distracted.

At one point, Karl and Yann had ended up in the Hospital Wing for one reason or another, and Scorpius had turned white as a sheet. Albus had done his best to bring him back from that and, afterwards, Scorpius had apologised, but Albus could see that it still stuck too heavily in his mind.

“Do we tell anyone about this?” Scorpius asked quietly.

“We could,” Albus shrugged. “We’re already in a shitload of trouble. This won’t change that. And they can stop pissing off the Merpeople.”

Scorpius nodded, starting to chew his lip a little. Albus stopped walking and placed his hands on Scorpius’ shoulders. Scorpius leaned into him as he placed a hand on his cheek.

“It’s going to be all right,” Albus promised. “It’s going to work out. Promise.”

“I’m still scared.”

“I know. Come on. Let’s get some sleep. I’ll stay with you.”

The two of them joined hands again and walked down the tower steps slowly, keeping an ear out for any patrols. As they reached the bottom, they both spotted a figure in the darkness and stopped silently. Beside him, Scorpius started to shake, and he glanced at him.

“It’s her,” he breathed. “She’s here. She knows we’re here.”

Albus tried to take a moment to comprehend this. After all his confidence about how they would be safe, how she wouldn’t have been able to make it inside the castle, she had found them easily, and he had made them vulnerable. She would come after them because he was stupid and cocky. Because he couldn’t keep himself from arrogance. 

“Okay,” Albus nodded. “Okay. You run. You get away. I’ll distract her.”

“Albus…”

“Run. I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt–”

“It’s my fault. You go. You get out. I’ll be okay.”

He didn’t wait for Scorpius to agree with him as he smiled widely at Delphi and walked towards her, pulling her into a strong hug.

“Hello,” she laughed. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Albus nodded, forcing himself to keep his smile aloft. “I just missed you.”

* * *

As much as Scorpius detested himself, he turned on his heel and raced back up the Owlery stairs. He knew there was little point in trying to get past Delphi, but he also knew there was very little he could do from the Owlery. Maybe, if Albus made it up, they could bar the door and send an owl to someone to ask for help.

But only if Albus made it back up.

He leant his shoulder against the door, trying to make out what was going on through the planks of wood. Silence. Silence for a long time. Too long to not scare him. Too long not knowing.

And then his stomach dropped through the floor at the loud explosion below him. The scream of pain. The force that managed to throw him backwards a little way. He pulled himself back to the door, pressing his ear back to it to see if he could hear anything now. Anything at all.

The silence continued again. No sound that suggested anything at all. No sound that suggested whether Albus was alive or dead.

No.

No.

Not dead.

Albus couldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t have killed him somewhere so visible. She wouldn’t have been able to move him without attracting attention. Which meant that he couldn’t be dead. Albus couldn’t be dead. Not yet.

Scorpius ran towards the ledge, trying to see if there was any way that he could get out to find help. A few ledges ran along the edge of the building, too small to balance on, but maybe it was worth the risk.

Unless he died and left Albus alone at her mercy. She’d definitely kill him then. And it would be Scorpius’ fault, because he’d thought he could get away. Because he’d thought that he would survive if he climbed out a tower window.

He didn’t get any further in his train of thought, however, as a loud banging sound echoed through the room, coming mainly from the door. Scorpius walked back to the door, leaning his ear against it slowly.

“Scorpius!” Albus’ voice rang through, full of fear. “Scorpius!”

Scorpius tore the door open, pulling Albus in sharply and slamming the door again. He threw his arms around him, breathing in deeply as tears started to flow down his face.

“You’re okay,” he whispered. “You’re alive.”

Silence.

And then–

“You know,” Albus sounded as if he was giggling, “when your dad died, he screamed for hours.”

“Albus?”

“He screamed and screamed and screamed until she got bored. It took a long time.”

Scorpius pulled away, staring at Albus. Or rather, whatever controlled him. Because it couldn’t be Albus speaking to him. Albus would never _say _that. Albus wasn’t there.

“I never told you that,” he said slowly. “I never told anyone what she did.”

“No,” Albus agreed. “She did. And it’s pathetic. You’re pathetic.”

“Why?”

“You couldn’t even fight back.”

“This isn’t you speaking to me,” Scorpius said, closing his eyes. “This is her. This isn’t you. You care about me. You love me.”

“I never said that.”

“Albus?”

“I never said I loved you. Because I don’t.”

“You kissed me.”

“And?”

Scorpius stepped closer, taking a deep breath. He’d read so many descriptions of the Imperious Curse. Maybe if he broke through the curse a little, it would be enough for Albus to fight it off. Maybe. 

“I love you,” he whispered. “Whatever you think, I love you.”

And then he kissed him, trying to be soft and gentle and not let his desperation leak through. Just enough to remind Albus that he loved him, that he would always love him. No matter what anyone said. No matter what happened.

Because he had loved him for as long as he could remember. Not always romantically. But as a friend. As a companion. As one of the few people that he knew he could count on to be there for him.

Coming to Hogwarts, sitting in that train compartment, that had been the best decision he had ever made. And he wanted Albus to know that. Even when Albus could not be in control of himself, he wanted Albus to be able to know that. So he kissed him.

Ropes appeared around his wrists, dragging him away as he landed on his knees, flinching at the jolt of pain. Albus wiped his mouth and spat the residue at Scorpius, who let his eyes fill with tears.

“Why?” he whispered.

No answer.

The door opened again and Delphi – the Augurey – walked in. She grinned at Scorpius as she stopped beside Albus, and then turned to plant a kiss on his cheek. He smiled back at her, all the emotion usually saved only for Scorpius now present in his eyes.

“Why?” Scorpius said again, a little stronger. “Why do you hate us so much?”

“I told you before,” Delphi smirked, “that world is my birth-right.”

“You’re a façade,” Scorpius spat back. “You’re a messy façade and you can’t win.”

“Scorpius,” Delphi smiled sweetly, “when will you understand that I have won every battle, and I will win this war.”

“You haven’t. We beat you. You won’t win.”

“I already have.”

Albus crouched down, placing a hand on Scorpius’ cheek. Scorpius attempted to pull away, but the ropes held fast, and Albus leaned closer.

“You kept secrets from me,” he hissed. “Don’t you think I deserve to get a little vengeance?”

“You don’t believe that. You’ve never believed that. Not like this.”

“Did I not?”

“You care about me.”

“Not that much.”

“I still love you.”

“What a shame.”

Scorpius didn’t really register the world going dark around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, on chapter seven, we have finally hit the part of the plot that the working title was named after. Seven chapters in. Fuck me. I don't understand this. I'm sorry.  
Thanks for reading.  
Kudos and comments very much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	8. The Beginning of a New Era

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: torture, violence, general very shitty behavior

The owl arrived while Draco was eating breakfast. It soared in through the open window and landed on the table, sticking out its leg patiently. Draco took the letter, slicing through the seal sharply as he recognised McGonagall’s handwriting.

He read, attempting to make sense of it as best he could in as little time as possible, and then he stood, pulling on his coat and stepping into the fireplace.

Within seconds, he was standing in McGonagall’s office, anger starting to mount a little. Because Potter also stood in the office, pacing back and forth.

“What’s going on?” Draco demanded. 

“Albus and Scorpius are missing again,” McGonagall said. 

“Again?” Draco stared. “My son was in the Hospital Wing. How on earth did he get out of there?”

“We don’t lock the doors of the Wing, Draco. We are searching the school, but there’s no trace of either of them.”

“Potter,” Draco turned. “You spoke to them yesterday after I left. What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“Albus was upset with me. Understandably.”

“If he’s run away again–”

“He hasn’t,” Ginny said sharply. “Harry, why don’t you explain what we’ve found rather than just getting angry.”

“What have you found?” Draco said coldly.

Harry pulled a small leather pouch from his pocket and placed it on the desk, opening it. Large specks of golden glittery stuff spilled out the sides and Draco picked a bit of it up, looking closely at it.

“What is this?” he asked.

“The remains of a Time-Turner. We found it up in the Owlery.”

“Albus kept the Time-Turner.”

“One of them did,” Potter started to correct him. 

“No,” Draco interrupted sharply. “Upon exiting that lake, my son was barely conscious. Do not blame this on Scorpius.”

“That’s not important right now,” Ginny said. “What’s important is that they went to the Owlery, supposedly to destroy the Time-Turner, and now they’re gone.”

“That woman,” Draco said, “you haven’t found that woman yet.”

“Delphini?” Potter frowned. “The likelihood that she could get to the Owlery without being detected–”

“Do you know who she is? Do you know _anything _about her?”

“No.”

“Then do not make assumptions. Do not rule her out. We haven’t got time to make mistakes.”

Potter nodded, sighing, and Draco couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Potter really possessed no sense of urgency whatsoever. Despite the fact that their children were missing _again_, he seemed to be completely at ease.

“I’ll go the Ministry,” Potter said slowly, “see what searches I can get together.”

“We can do another sweep of the school,” Ginny nodded. “Good luck.”

“You too,” Potter smiled, before disappearing in a plume of smoke and fire.

Draco nodded a thank you to McGonagall before following Ginny out of the office and into the corridor.

“Why?” he muttered as they almost ran. “Why have they run again?”

“They didn’t,” Ginny said. “Draco, we know they didn’t.”

“Do we?”

“They wanted to destroy that Time-Turner and I can’t say I blame them. They haven’t got many reasons not to trust the Ministry. But they didn’t run. Something went wrong.”

“Do you think that it was that woman?”

“I do,” Ginny nodded. “From what Scorpius said, she sounds powerful, and if that’s enough to slip into the castle undetected, then I’ve no doubt it was her. In which case, I’ve got no idea where they will be now.”

“Who was she – this woman – how did they meet? Albus didn’t say much.”

“Her name is Delphi Diggory,” Ginny explained. “Albus met her when Amos came to see Harry. She’s his niece.”

“Should we not be looking into her?”

“Harry will get some Aurors on that.”

“Good.”

They kept moving, and Draco couldn’t help but notice a number of missing posters hung on particular walls. They did not look particularly official, and he was unsurprised to see that they had nothing to do with his son. Given the experiences his son had described at the school, he doubted anyone would give them any help in looking, or even care.

But he made a mental note of the missing boy. Because it would be connected. If Albus and Scorpius had gone missing like this, and it was a kidnap, then the disappearances would be connected.

He kept walking. They kept searching. And with every passing moment, Draco could not help but become more and more worried. No trace had been left of his son, and he knew that Scorpius hadn’t been at the pinnacle of health last night. The fact that he could be at the mercy of someone who was willing to hurt him terrified Draco.

More than anything had ever terrified him before.

* * *

Albus groaned as his mind swum into consciousness. Something around his wrists made them feel uncomfortable and heavy, and he struggled to move them properly. Despite the fact that he had been apparently asleep, he wasn’t lying down – he was leant against a wall.

And he couldn’t remember any of what had happened.

He opened his eyes, glancing around himself to try and make sense of his surroundings. He had been propped up in the corner of a small, relatively dark room. His hands were chained in front of him, and the chains led to the wall beside him.

And he was alone.

He fought to stand, to get to the door, to try and find Scorpius, but the chains held fast. He took a deep breath. Scorpius would be okay. He had worked to make sure Scorpius would be okay, to save Scorpius.

He had told Scorpius to run. He had told Scorpius that he would distract Delphi. Except. Except.

Something had happened. She had done something to him. And he had screamed even though it hadn’t hurt. And then he had followed Scorpius.

Up the Owlery. To Scorpius. To hurt Scorpius. _To hurt Scorpius_.

Albus made to stand up, fighting again to get to the door, but the chains did their job again. He did not land on the floor this time, however, remaining standing and watching the door. He had hurt Scorpius. He had hurt the person he cared about most in the world.

And he had done it because Delphi had forced him to. Because her whispers had forced their way into his mind and convinced him that saying that was the right thing to do. That hurting someone like that was the right thing to do. And he had done it.

He had taunted Scorpius and told him that he didn’t care about him. He had hurt him. And now he didn’t know where he was.

But he knew one thing. He knew, undoubtedly, that when Delphi came through that door, he would kill her. For what she had done, he would kill her.

Because he knew now what she had done to the boy he loved, in that unspoken time.

She had tortured him. She had hurt him so brutally for crimes that she claimed were punishable. She had harmed him to the point where he had simply begged for death, because he could not continue living.

And the anger that simmered within him was too unpredictable for him to simply accept it. Because it scared him. The fact that he felt willing to hurt someone that badly scared him, however much she deserved it.

He forced himself to breathe. Plotting murder wouldn’t get him anywhere in his current situation. He needed to get himself out of wherever he was. His eyes had started to adjust to the low light at this point, and he could see the chains in a little more detail.

The cuffs around his wrists seemed to be secured by some sort of padlock, and he started trying to mentally clock if he had any small, thin objects he could use to pick it open. He reached, as best he could, into his pocket, starting to feel around for anything that he could use. Anything at all.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Of course, why would he have a lock-picking device with him? It wasn’t something that people tended to carry. Why would he have one?

He sank back against the wall, biting his lip.

Maybe Scorpius would be okay. Wherever he was. Wherever she had taken him.

Albus didn’t even understand why she wanted them anymore. The Time-Turner had been destroyed, and she had to know that. So why did she need them? What could they give her? She couldn’t honestly believe that they had any sway over the Ministry. As insane as she seemed to be, she was also very smart. Too smart to think that.

Which meant that he had to wait. Wait for the world to make sense. Wait for her to come back. Or wait for her to forget about him.

Maybe that was her intention. To lock him away so that the world forgot about him. To let him die. To punish him for everything he had ever done wrong. Maybe that had been Delphi’s purpose the entire time.

A being, created by a higher thing that Albus didn’t really hold any belief in, to punish him for the mistakes he couldn’t help but make. It seemed fitting. It almost seemed fair. As long as Scorpius survived.

He didn’t care whether he lived or died. As long as Scorpius survived.

As long as Scorpius got to live a long and happy life with no more pain than he had already endured. Albus would have done anything to ensure that. But he couldn’t. Because he had gotten them both kidnapped and was now chained to a wall, trying to think of a way out that would never really come.

He stopped himself thinking. Thinking wouldn’t do him any good. Considering what might happen and driving himself into a panic would make it worse when he actually needed to think and act accordingly.

He forced himself to think of a blank wall. Something plain. Nothing that reminded him of anything else. Nothing else in the world. In the whole wide world. Nothing about where he was, because he didn’t know. He didn’t know where he was. And that mattered, but he couldn’t dwell on it. But he had started to. Because not knowing scared him.

He shut his eyes tightly, trying to block out the world. For a bit longer. Just a bit longer. Please. Please.

The door opened.

Albus sat up sharply, fighting against the chains as he attempted to get to her, to find out what she had done.

When she stepped into the room, she laughed as Albus, waving her hand absent-mindedly. He shrieked with pain as the shackles dragged him to his knees, forcing him to remain still as she walked towards him, smiling sweetly.

“Where’s Scorpius?” he demanded. “What have you done with him?”

“All in good time,” Delphi murmured. “For now, I’ve got something to – well – show you.”

“Where are we?”

“My temporary home.”

“And where’s that?”

“Albus,” Delphi said sternly, “do you think I’d actually tell you that?”

“Maybe,” Albus muttered. “Could you at least tell me who you are, what you want, and why?”

“Later. First–”

She snapped her fingers and Albus stared down at his wrists as the chains disappeared. However, before he could launch some sort of feral attack on his captor, she shoved a hood over his head and pulled him to his feet.

“Just in case you wanted to try and get away,” she hissed, “you should know I have a knife to your throat, and I’ve just finished sharpening it.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

He flinched, swallowing as the sharp stinging pain against his skin. He didn’t say anything, and supposedly Delphi took this as defeat. He could feel beads of blood trickling down his chest, hot and sticky.

And then they started to walk.

He didn’t know where. He didn’t know for how long. He didn’t know why. All he knew was that he had to keep walking, or she would hurt him. Or Scorpius. She still hadn’t said anything about Scorpius.

Surely he was alive.

She had captured him second. What was the point in capturing him if she didn’t need him? Leaving him would have made no difference. Their families would know it was Delphi who had taken them. Delphi would understand that fact. So she had Scorpius. And Scorpius was alive.

Albus didn’t realise immediately when Delphi wanted him to stop walking, and she shoved him backwards into what he guessed to be a wall, swearing. He leaned forward as his head smashed into the stone, sending a wave of dizziness washing over him.

She did something, and his hands were secured to either side of him, with some sort of harsh rope. And then she was gone.

He stopped fighting the ropes after a few minutes, realising that while he couldn’t see anything, there was little point in trying to free himself. If he could wait, just a little longer, there might be a chance of it being okay. A small chance.

It was a long time before the silence ended. A time of fear and nerves and sheer terror at what might happen. But when it did end, he almost wished that it hadn’t, because the silence broke with whimpers and sobs that echoed through the space. Whimpers and sobs that Albus was aware came from Scorpius.

The hood came off a few moments later, and Albus blinked frantically to make his eyes adjust to the brightness of the space. Once he could see properly, he focussed on Delphi, inches from him and grinning. And he focussed on Scorpius, a few feet away in the middle of the hall, kneeling with a sack over his head. Sobbing.

Albus screamed out, fighting to get to him, but the ropes held fast, burning as he twisted his limbs within them.

“Let him go!” he screamed at Delphi. “What did he do? Why do you have to hurt him?”

“Don’t moan, Albus,” she rolled her eyes. “I haven’t hurt him yet.”

“He never hurt anyone,” Albus ground out. “He never did anything to hurt anyone. If you hurt him again, I swear, I’ll kill you.”

“Again?”

“You hurt him before, in that other world. You hurt him.”

“Ah yes,” Delphi grinned. “That.” A pause. “The thing about that whole fiasco, is that you didn’t see it. So it doesn’t really serve any purpose.”

“You tortured him.”

“Yes, but technically it didn’t happen, did it? Since he reset time.”

“Don’t touch him.”

“Oh no,” Delphi smiled, “I’m going to. I’m going to today. But that’s the thing, Albus. Today is just an example. It’s just to show you what might happen if you don’t do what you’re told when I start asking questions. Today is an example. And a bit of entertainment for me.”

“Might?”

“I can’t be concrete, can I?”

Albus didn’t have a response to that, and he watched silently as she walked towards Scorpius, pulling off his hood and throwing him forwards in one swift movement. He looked around wildly, before his gaze landed on Albus and he started to fight to get to him.

Delphi held him fast, laughing at his fear and pain as she crouched beside him. Albus closed his eyes as he heard Scorpius whimper again. He couldn’t concentrate on that. He had to get out of the ropes. He had to get to Scorpius.

Scorpius’ screams rang through the room.

Albus stopped, his gaze dragged back to Scorpius as he writhed and shrieked with pain. His limbs contorted violently, to the point where Albus thought the snapping of bones would join the shouts of pain, and Albus screamed at Delphi to stop, begging and sobbing and fighting the ropes to get to her.

It never did anything.

Eventually, the screams morphed to sobs and Albus dropped. He would have landed on his knees, had his wrists not been tied to the wall. Instead he just hung there, staring forward at Scorpius, curled up and crying at Delphi’s feet.

“Please,” Albus whispered. “Please don’t do this.”

“It only needs to happen once,” Delphi said softly. “If you do what you’re told, this can be the only example. But it needs to happen first.”

“Please,” Albus started to cry.

Scorpius screamed again.

And Albus screamed with him, unable to tear his gaze away from Scorpius’ writhing body. He needed to. He needed to concentrate on something, _anything_, else. But he couldn’t. Because Scorpius was in pain and it was his fault. And he couldn’t do anything.

Not until he forced himself to think, to tell himself to act logically, in the way that Scorpius would. Delphi stood, apparently occupied with her exploits, and Albus needed to use that. He knew he needed to use that. As effectively as possible.

He turned his head, forcing himself to look away from the horror in front of him. If he stretched his arm just so, he could reach his other wrist with his teeth and start to work at the ropes. It didn’t do much. He struggled to get a decent grip on the stuff, but it didn’t look as if Delphi had noticed what he was doing.

She appeared to be having too much fun torturing the boy he loved.

He tore through the ropes are best he could, breaking the fibres apart with his teeth until his could pull through it and break them himself. It took a long time, or maybe it only felt like that because Scorpius continued to scream, but once he had one hand, he ripped away the other ropes and started to run towards Scorpius.

Except, he didn’t make it anywhere, as chains materialised around his ankles, keeping him attached to the wall. He fell forward, not able to react and throw his hands out quickly enough to break his fall.

The world started to spin as his forehead smashed onto the flagstones, sending pain shooting through his head as he struggled to move towards Scorpius again. Even though he couldn’t move. Even though the world had become nothing more than a crazed blur. Even though he could feel blood trickling down his face.

He looked up, trying to see Scorpius clearly. The screaming had ended, though Albus couldn’t tell if that was what had happened, or if he had hurt himself to the point where he couldn’t tell fact from fiction. The pain in his head kept expanding and growing and forcing its way through his mind. He groaned as he pushed himself up again, and then he collapsed.

He’d fucked it up.

He’d really, really fucked it up.

“Scorpius…”

_I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...don't kill me? Is that an option?  
Thanks for reading.  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	9. The Places That Lead Nowhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: blood, bit of violence

The Augurey didn’t stop torturing Scorpius when Albus fell from the wall. And when she finished, Albus had long since passed out. Scorpius crawled towards him, trying to ignore that he had so little energy that breathing was a struggle. He needed to get to Albus. Somehow, he needed to stop the flow of blood pooling near his head. Somehow.

The Augurey’s foot landed on his back and he was forced to stop, turning his head to look at her. She shook her head, smiling sweetly.

“Please,” he whimpered.

She snapped her finger and Scorpius felt the ropes meld themselves to the floor. He watched helplessly as she walked towards Albus’ unconscious form and crouched down beside him. She ran a hand over his hair, whispering something that Scorpius couldn’t make out.

“He didn’t do anything,” he sobbed. “Please don’t hurt him. Please…please!”

“Okay,” the Augurey nodded. “You know what? You’re right. He hasn’t done anything wrong yet.”

She walked back to Scorpius, dragging him to his feet sharply. He tried not to let his knees buckle as a hood was dragged back over his face, cutting off his vision. And then he walked, going where she guided him, in the slight hope that maybe, maybe she’d leave Albus alone if he did what she told him.

So he didn’t make a sound as she forced him onto the floor and ripped off the hood again, grinning as she slammed the door. And then he curled in on himself and started to sob.

He had been so fucking stupid for thinking that it would end once he got back, for thinking that she would just allow them to carry on with their lives. For thinking that she wouldn’t find a way to finish murdering him.

Except that she didn’t seem to want to kill him now. She wanted to hurt him, to hurt Albus. And he couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t stop Albus’ pain. Because he couldn’t fight back. Not when he hadn’t slept for a week, or eaten for longer. Not when he was too weak to even hold his own head up.

He couldn’t protect Albus like that. And Albus couldn’t protect him.

All they could do was wait for someone to find them and stop her. Whether that was likely to happen or not was beyond him at this point, and he just closed his eyes, trying to shake the sound of Albus screaming his name so that he could sleep.

He needed to sleep. He needed to rest. It was their best shot. There was nothing else he could do.

* * *

“Please explain to me in what circumstance you felt justified to _stop_ this search,” Draco fumed.

“They used Parseltongue,” Potter explained. “Which means that whatever is on the other side of this, it’s going to be major, and I don’t want you to have to find out second-hand when you’re smart and might have a clue as to what has happened.”

“Oh,” Draco stopped. “Okay. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Shall we go?”

Draco nodded and followed Potter to the fireplace. A minute later, both of them were stood in the foyer of St. Oswald’s Home for Old Witches and Wizards, surrounded by a strange combination of the usual chaos and bustling Aurors. Lots of Aurors.

Potter led Draco down a dark corridor towards a place where the doors were very closely packed. He knocked on one of them and it opened.

“Good morning, Draco,” Hermione said as she let them in.

“Let’s do this and it might actually be that,” Draco said, looking at what was going on.

They stood in a small, dark room, with large panelled walls and a single iron bed in middle of the nothing. Because nothing else seemed to exist in the room. No desk. No personal touches. No suggestion that the owner of the room was even real. 

“We’ve already questioned Amos Diggory,” Hermione explained. “He’s got no recollection of her. Neither he nor his wife ever had any siblings. And I’ve checked in with the Ministry. There’s nothing. She’s a shadow.”

“We’ve got nothing,” Draco nodded. “We just have to hope this room reveals something.”

“Which is why we needed Harry here,” Hermione looked at him. “Ginny unscrewed the lamp and we heard Parseltongue.”

“I don’t speak Parseltongue anymore,” Potter pointed out. “I know the dreams have been – resurfacing, but that might not mean anything.”

“Can you mimic it? It’s the best chance we’ve got.”

“Weasley,” Draco turned to Ron, “didn’t you get yourself into the Chamber of Secrets without Harry?”

“Uh – yeah,” Ron nodded. “But that was over twenty years ago.”

“Can you try? You’ve done it before. Harry hasn’t spoken it independently of having weird psychic people in his head..”

“Okay,” Ron said slowly. “Do you think just – talking to – to the lamp – is that the best option?”

“Go ahead,” Potter said.

Ginny twisted the lamp again and the room suddenly filled with a horrific, scratchy, hissing sound that Draco grimaced at. It wasn’t pleasant and he did his best to block it out and concentrate on remaining quiet so that Ron could do his best to open whatever they were trying to open.

Until Potter stumbled back a few steps, staring around wildly like some sort of crazed child, trying to make sense of the world. 

“What?” Ron asked.

“That’s Parseltongue,” Potter gasped. Draco bit back a snide remark. “That’s – I’m not supposed to be understanding that.”

“And what does it say?” Hermione asked.

“How do I…” Harry stared. “I haven’t been able to understand Parseltongue since Voldemort died.”

“And nor has your scar hurt.”

“Ron, mate,” Potter started to turn to his friend.

“Open it,” Ron nodded. “We need to find them. Open it.”

Harry nodded back and then responded to the hissing with his own strange concoction of sound. Draco glanced around himself as the room transformed, becoming strangely dark and desperate and – snakelike. The walls started to glow, and then shapes appeared in that, and then words.

And then chunks of maddened scrawls appeared.

Names and words and scratched-out phrases that Draco couldn’t make out. He walked to the wall, raising his wand along the sentences and trying to read them. 

“When spares are spared,” Ron read slowly. “When time is turned. When unseen children murder their fathers. Then will the Dark Lord return.”

“A prophecy,” Ginny whispered. “A new prophecy.”

“Cedric – Cedric was called a spare.”

“When time is turned – how does that make sense? The Time-Turner was destroyed.”

“Not at first,” Potter said. “She had it before. Albus and Scorpius destroyed it…”

“And she took them to either hold to ransom or just until she can fulfil that thing again.”

“But why?” Potter said slowly. “Who is she to be obsessed with all this?”

“Look up,” Ginny murmured.

Draco did, though he didn’t immediately process the meaning of the proclamation that had been scrawled on the ceiling.

** _I will rebirth the Dark. I will bring my father back._ **

“Shit,” Draco breathed.

“No,” Ron muttered. “She can’t…”

“How is it even – possible?” Hermione gasped.

“Voldemort had a daughter,” Draco slumped. “Voldemort had a daughter.”

“She’s got Albus and Scorpius,” Ginny murmured.

Draco tried to force his mind out of the shock of it and concentrate on what mattered, on what they could find out from that information. If they could get somewhere from it, then they needed to know as soon as possible.

It appeared, when he resurfaced to force himself to think, that Hermione had already begun that process, because people were moving around him, photographing the walls and taking notes on anything and everything they could find. Not that it was a lot.

“I – I need to talk to some people,” he said, half-unable to string the words together. 

“Who?” Potter asked.

“My parents,” Draco said. “There’s something, something I remember, I need to make sure I know what happened.”

“Okay,” Potter nodded. “If you need me go to my office and someone will be able to let you know where I am.”

“Thank you,” Draco murmured.

He walked away, breaking into a run as he got out into the corridor, and as he hit the Apparition Charm boundary, he disappeared in a single turn.

Moments later, he stood in his parents’ garden, slightly breathless, and he knocked on the door sharply, unable to keep himself still while he waited for them to open it. The fear mounting in his chest, the knowledge that his son had been kidnapped by Voldemort’s daughter, and that he could have possibly stopped it, wanted to ripped him apart. And he couldn’t let it.

Not until he knew the truth.

And not until he had saved Scorpius and Albus.

And after that, he had to stay strong for his son.

He couldn’t let himself be destroyed.

He flinched slightly as his mother opened the door, smiling when she laid eyes on her son. He nodded a hello, unable to form words at that moment, and stepped inside when she welcomed him.

“Who is it?” his father called from another room.

“Draco,” his mother called back. 

“And what rant about blood rights are we to be subjected to today?”

“Nothing,” Draco bit back a snarky comment. “I have questions. You – you might know the answers.”

“Is something wrong, dear?” Narcissa frowned. “You’re very pale.”

“Scorpius has been kidnapped,” he explained. “I have – I have questions. About the war.”

“How is that relevant?” Lucius stood in the doorway.

“Before Greyback and those Snatchers found Harry, Ron and Hermione,” Draco started, “when Bellatrix disappeared with you, looking very pale, what happened?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The day that everyone heard screaming even though no one was being tortured and we all assumed that we were going insane, what happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Did Bellatrix have a daughter?”

“What makes you ask that?”

“Because we have just discovered Voldemort’s daughter and I’m fairly sure the only person willing to have sex with that thing was your sister.”

“Draco, listen to me–”

“Tell me,” Draco interrupted sharply. “I don’t have time to uncover the details from a spiel of shit from his mouth. Scorpius is missing – she has something to do with it. Did you know about her?”

Silence. Draco curled his fist, trying to remain calm as he watched their expressions change. For some reason, they could not simply understand that lives were at stake and he had to save his son – _their _grandson.

“Sit down, Draco.”

“I–”

“Sit down and I will explain what happened. And then you can go back and do with that information what you will.”

“Thank you,” Draco said quietly.

He followed his parents into their living room, sitting on the sofa when prompted. His mother sat opposite him, taking his father’s hand.

“I don’t know how Bella ended up pregnant with the Dark Lord’s child,” she murmured, “or even whether that child was the Dark Lord’s. But given that she did her best to very convincingly hide all signs that she was pregnant, and that her husband wouldn’t look at her most of the time, I was fairly sure then that the child was not his.”

“She wouldn’t have had a child with anyone other than Voldemort,” Draco nodded.

“After the Battle,” Narcissa continued, “we wanted nothing to do with the child. It was that child or you. You’re more important. You always have been. Bella had been so sure that we would win, I didn’t know whether she’d put anything in place in case she didn’t come back. I thought the child was dead.”

“Well she’s not,” Draco muttered. “Don’t know how. Don’t know who raised her. But they did and I’m fairly sure she’s kidnapped my son.”

“Find out who didn’t get arrested at that Battle,” Narcissa said softly. “They’ll be most likely to know something about her.”

“Thank you,” Draco said quietly. “Thank you for – actually saying something. I have to go.”

“Best of luck.”

“Thank you.”

Five minutes later, Draco disapparated.

* * *

Everything seemed to hurt when he first started to wake up. Every time he took a breath, he felt a faint aching pain in his chest. His forehead throbbed constantly, worsening every time he twitched in any way. His wrists stung, feeling as though they were covered in welts from the ropes.

Albus opened his eyes, keeping his head as still as possible as he did, so not to make the pain even worse than it already was. It didn’t feel as if he was still bleeding, but everything felt damp. His vision took a few seconds the focus properly and when it did, he started to try and sit up.

His limbs were unbound now, and he glanced around, trying not to move his head too far. He was apparently back in the same room he had first woken up in, though this time, the door had not been shut properly and, had there actually been a draught, Albus imagined that it would be swinging back and forth.

Except he hadn’t been permitted a window. So there was no draught. There was just an open door.

However, before he could summon the strength to stand up and drag himself out, someone stepped into the room and he tried to scramble away from them. He didn’t make it far, but that was seemingly okay, as it wasn’t Delphi who had entered.

It was a boy, holding a small bottle and a cloth. He looked as if he was about fifteen, and Albus recognised him somewhat, though he didn’t know why. He had messy black hair and looked somewhere between angry and slightly bored. As he knelt beside Albus, he pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and Albus remembered who he was.

A boy in fifth year. Albus didn’t know his name. He didn’t have many friends. He tended to keep himself to himself in the library. He’d rejected Scorpius’ company on occasion, though through no prejudice. 

“Don’t move,” he muttered. “You’re injured.”

“What are you doing here?” Albus asked. “You work for her?”

“God no,” the boy muttered.

“Then why…”

“Because she kidnapped me to do the housekeeping.”

“Oh. Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a Potter so maybe someone will actually look for us.”

Albus didn’t respond, biting his lip. He flinched as the boy dabbed his forehead with a damp cloth and pain shot through him, forcing him back sharply, before he stopped himself.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “What – what happened?”

“I don’t know. She dumped you in here and told me to clean you up. She wasn’t pleased. I’m fairly sure you’d be dead if she didn’t need you for something.”

“What’s your name?”

“Tiago,” the boy said. “Don’t move. I’m using Dittany.”

Albus closed his eyes, trying not to flinch at the slight sting across his forehead. Tiago. He remembered Tiago more now. Fifth year. Quiet. Very quiet. Not known by many people. Not someone who would be widely missed.

“Scorpius,” he said suddenly. “Where’s Scorpius?”

“He’s okay,” Tiago said softly. “I saw him before you.”

“You – you saw him? You can see him?”

“Yes, I can,” Tiago said firmly. “But no, I am not taking messages. She’ll kill me.”

“I know,” Albus said. “Just – if something happens – if she – if she…”

He couldn’t bring himself to say it. He couldn’t bring himself to consider that she had power over their lives. That she had power to – end – Scorpius. He couldn’t even think it. She wouldn’t. Surely she wouldn’t.

“I’ll tell you how he is if something happens,” Tiago nodded. “But you can’t get carried away with that.”

“I won’t,” Albus promised. “I – she’ll hurt us all if I did. I won’t.”

“Thank you,” Tiago muttered. “Okay. Right. That’s not healed, but it’s something. Just – just stay still. Or something. I don’t know. I’m not a Healer. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Thank you,” Albus said. “Thank you for doing what you can.”

“Be careful,” Tiago said quietly. “Because she’s only going to get worse. If this is what happens when she tries to set an example, I don’t want to know what’s going to happen when she actually wants something.”

“If someone doesn’t find us,” Albus muttered, “we’re all going to die.”

“Let’s hope they find us then,” Tiago said, some dark humour twisting its way into his voice. 

“Yeah. Yeah. Let’s hope.”

“There’s food here. Eat something.”

And with that, Tiago stood up, walking away and out the door. Albus sighed as he heard the lock click shut. He was trapped again. He was trapped without Scorpius, without any knowledge of where he was. And he couldn’t do anything.

He reached to where Tiago had left his bag, supposedly containing food, and pulled out some reasonably stale bread and a small bottle of water. It wasn’t a lot. None of it was a lot.

But it was something. It was enough to keep him alive and conscious enough to function.

He only hoped she had given Scorpius the same. If he was a leverage, surely she’d treat him decently when Albus wasn’t around. Surely, it was better to be able to hurt him for longer in front of Albus and let him heal when he was alone.

That was logical.

Except Delphi wasn’t logical. Or she didn’t seem to be.

She would do what she wanted. Because the only life that seemed to matter to her was her own. And she would do anything, apparently.

Albus didn’t know what he was supposed to do with that knowledge. With the knowledge that nothing he could say would stop her, because he didn’t know anything about her life. If she wasn’t logical, then the only way to get inside her head and stop her from hurting Scorpius was to know about her life. And he didn’t.

He had no options.

Except to obey her.

Maybe it wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe she wouldn’t want him to do anything too horrific. Maybe he’d be able to do it and keep a vaguely clear conscience.

It was a very large maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is probably what will qualify as nice from here on out. Have fun with that. (I mean I'm sorry it hurts me too)  
Thanks for reading  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	10. Pointless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: torture, alluding to anxiety and depression,

Albus didn’t know how long Delphi waited to drag him into the Hall again, blindfolded so that he still didn’t know his way around. But when she did, he didn’t fight. The idea of cooperation, of keeping Scorpius, and Tiago, safe, stuck firm in his mind.

So he let Delphi push him into the Hall and laugh as she ripped off the blindfold. He let her taunt her and get too close for comfort. He let her do it all. Because it meant that Scorpius wasn’t getting hurt. At that moment, Scorpius was safe. As long as he kept Delphi occupied. 

“So, Albus,” she grinned. “Do you like your room?”

“Am I allowed a window?” Albus muttered.

“Of course not,” Delphi scoffed. “We don’t want you working out where you are, do we?”

“Where am I?”

“Far away,” Delphi’s eyes sparkled. “Far away from anyone who might disrupt what I want to do.”

“And what’s that?”

“Didn’t you get the idea from what I showed you?”

“Be specific.”

He reeled backwards as she slapped him across the face, screaming out. Albus sat up again as she started to pace back and forth, muttering to herself until she turned back to him, a look of pure insanity crossing her face.

“I have some questions,” she said slowly, “and you will answer them.”

Albus didn’t respond. She didn’t need a response for that. The questions were coming regardless. What he needed to do was answer with something satisfactory, and everything would be okay. As long as she didn’t hurt Scorpius. As long as he could keep her from that.

“What did you do with the Time-Turner?”

“We destroyed it.”

“When?”

“Before you kidnapped us.”

“Who produces the Time-Turners?”

“I don’t know. Dad raided Theodore Knott and found that one. I don’t know who made it.”

Delphi stopped and Albus held his breath. If she got angry, if she wasn’t satisfied with his answers, then he would stand strong and not react when she hurt him. It would all end. It was only temporary.

At least that is what he could tell himself. Even though he didn’t really believe it. And never would.

But that didn’t matter. Because Delphi was talking again.

“Theodore Knott? Interesting.”

“Why do you care?” Albus muttered.

“Because I have a birth-right, and I want it fulfilled.”

“A birth-right?” Albus stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

“You never really asked me about myself, Albus,” Delphi sighed.

“You opened conversation telling me you were a Diggory,” Albus pointed out. “I wasn’t expecting there to be something like this.”

“Oh right,” Delphi smiled. “I did do that, didn’t I?”

“What do you want?” Albus asked quietly. 

“I want to know how to get another Time-Turner. So, really, I want to know how to get into the Ministry.”

Albus stopped. He didn’t have an answer to that. Every time his dad had tried to take him, or someone else had offered, he had turned it down. He hadn’t wanted to spend any more time near his family than he needed to.

And that seemed to be a blessing. The fact that she couldn’t find that out from him was a blessing for the world, because it would keep them a little safer. But for him, for _Scorpius_, he didn’t know what it would mean.

“Albus,” Delphi sang. “I’m waiting.”

“I don’t know,” Albus mumbled. 

“You don’t know?” Delphi raised her eyebrows. “Do you need a bit of persuasion?”

“I don’t know,” Albus said again, a little stronger. “I’ve only been to the Ministry a couple of times. Not recently. I don’t know how to get in without being noticed.”

Delphi crouched in front of him, taking his hand and smiling softly. Albus swallowed, trying not to concentrate on how close to his face she was, and she grinned.

“I don’t believe you.”

Albus screamed.

Pain, worse than anything he could have ever imagined, crashed over every fibre of his body, and he screamed, writhing and sobbing as he tried to fight it. Tried to fight off some invisible force with no body and no mind and no direction.

Just constant pain and fear and the knowledge that it might kill him.

As long as it was him that it killed. As long as Scorpius stayed safe. As long as she didn’t hurt Scorpius. He could be happy with what she threw at him if Scorpius came out alive.

* * *

Lily sat down in the library, slamming another book into the desk. She didn’t care that curfew had passed several hours ago. It didn’t matter. She needed to keep reading. She needed to find out everything she could about her brother’s kidnapper. She needed to work out where he was.

And researching everything she could about past ‘villains’ seemed like the best way to do it. What else could she do when she couldn’t search for him directly? What else could she do when she had do balance the world with school? Balance in the loosest sense of the word.

She knew who had taken him and, almost immediately, she had made the decision to find out everything she possibly could about this woman. If she knew that, she could work out where she was hiding. She could find her brother. She could find Scorpius.

She opened the book, re-dipping her quill in ink and starting to take notes from the first paragraph.

Despite her handwriting being almost impossibly small, she had still nearly gone through all of her parchment and, when the Hogsmeade weekend had been announced, she had shoved the majority of her termly allowance into one of her friend’s hands, begging them to get her as much parchment as they could.

She blinked a few times as she yawned, reaching into her bag for her water-bottle. She splashed a little onto her eyes, blinking again, and then she continued reading.

She knew her friends were starting to get concerned. She knew that not eating, not sleeping, and generally not doing anything, wasn’t healthy, but she didn’t care. She would start looking after herself once Albus and Scorpius were back home and safe.

Until then, she didn’t need to do anything apart from help find them. Even if her parents told her to focus on school. Even if she was supposed to try and put herself first.

“Lily?”

She looked up to see Professor Longbottom approaching and she slammed the book shut, starting to stand up.

“I was just going,” she started the rehearsed ramble. “I lost track of the time and I thought that–”

“Don’t worry,” Professor Longbottom sat down next to her. “I know you’re here every night.”

“Oh.”

“I know you’re worried about your brother. But we’re supposed to be looking after you, and I haven’t seen you anywhere other than here. Are you eating?”

“If my friends can smuggle food in here, I’ll eat it.”

“Are you sleeping?”

“No.”

Professor Longbottom sighed and Lily bit her lip. She knew he was just trying to help, but she hated it when adults tried that. Especially when they didn’t understand. When they didn’t understand what was going on inside her head, why she _had _to do this, and they pretended they knew everything. She hated that. 

“Look,” she muttered, “I have to help find Albus and Scorpius. I’ll start looking after myself once they’re back, but until then, I can survive like this.”

“It isn’t healthy–”

“Why does everyone expect me to carry on as if nothing has happened?” Lily tried not to scream. “Shit is going on. Even if everyone else ignores it, I’m not going to.”

“Come back to my office.”

“I’m busy.”

“Bring the book.”

“Sir?”

“This is me being your godfather,” Neville said quietly. “I’m not ‘sir.’”

“Why are you…”

“Because I can’t stop you doing this, but I can make you eat and sleep, at the very least.”

Lily nodded, standing up and scooping up the parchment, quills and books before following Neville from the library. He took her free hand, leading her to his office. When they arrived, he sat her down and started walking around.

She waited for him as he set down two mugs of tea, passing one to her. She looked at it, biting her lip. She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to lose herself. She didn’t want to lose control. But it was about to happen.

And she didn’t want to stop it.

“Drink it,” Neville said softly. 

“Thank you.”

“When did you last eat?”

“I – I can’t really remember.”

“Well then, you can work in here from now on.”

“What?”

“Work in here. If your friends bring you food, eat it. If they don’t, I’ll bring you some. Work in here. I’ll help when I can.”

Lily looked at him. “Why?”

“Because you seem to refuse to look after yourself, so I’m going to.”

“Thank you.”

Lily opened the book again.

* * *

It never stopped. None of it ever stopped. When Delphi got bored, she would allow Albus a break, but the questions would return the next day. Always the same question. Always the same lack of answer.

And always the same pain.

This continued for weeks. Albus didn’t ever respond with anything more than a muttered ‘I don’t know’, because his pain meant Scorpius was safe. For some reason, she hadn’t followed through on his threat to hurt him.

Sometimes, Tiago would be there when she let him sleep, and Tiago would almost have to force food down his throat, because he didn’t have the strength to move, much less eat.

And Delphi relished in every moment of his pain. It was almost as if she had forgotten about what torturing Scorpius had done to him. But Albus never said anything. As long as Scorpius was vaguely safe, he didn’t care what she did to him.

Maybe she kept hurting him because she knew that he didn’t know the answer to her questions, and it was all a bit of fun for her. Maybe because there was no logic to anything she did. Maybe because she didn’t care.

Her questions, and his internal ones, continued until she stopped. One day, she dragged him through to the hall, and there were no questions. Not the ones he was used to, anyway. He sat and listened to her rambling and ranting until she stopped and looked at him again.

“Tell me about your family,” she said softly.

“Why is that relevant?” Albus looked up at her, exhausted. 

“Because I want to know about them,” Delphi smiled. “Tell me about your siblings.”

Albus opened his mouth to respond, but he stopped himself. If things continued because he didn’t know, why should he cooperate with her when he had an answer? What was the point? Whatever he answered, he would get hurt. 

“No,” he muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“I won’t tell you about my family,” Albus muttered. “Why do you need to know about them?”

“Because I had something for them,” Delphi frowned. “I didn’t know whether they would like it or not.”

“I don’t want you knowing about them.”

“Oh come on,” Delphi rolled her eyes. “What would Scorpius say? What would Scorpius say about any of this?”

“He wouldn’t want me to say anything,” Albus said. “Why would he?”

“I think he might want you to.”

“Have you hurt him?” Albus started to pull himself up angrily. “If you’ve hurt him–”

“Scorpius is fine,” Delphi interrupted impatiently. “Now, answer my question. Tell me about your siblings.”

Albus closed his eyes, unable to keep them open. He had a thousand questions that she would never answer. A thousand pleas that she would never deign to accept. And he didn’t know what else to do.

“Do you want to know something?”

“What?” he grunted.

“You’ve been here for a while now, and I thought I’d do something for you.”

Albus forced his eyes back open to see Delphi holding a red envelope and grinning at him. He didn’t say anything, unable to understand what she wanted.

“Speak,” she said softly.

“Speak what?”

“To your family. It’s a Howler. Speak to them.”

“No.”

“Your stubbornness is truly world class.”

“I want to see Scorpius.”

“Albus. Albus, Albus, Albus. I don’t think you understand what your choice is. You send a message to your family. That’s what you’re going to do. You don’t get to see your little friend.”

Albus didn’t have the strength to fight back. So he nodded. He wanted to see Scorpius. He wanted nothing more than to see Scorpius. But he almost wished he hadn’t asked now. Reminding her that Scorpius existed had been a mistake. 

“Speak.”

He took a deep breath, his eyes filling with tears.

“Mum and – and dad.”

“I don’t know where – I don’t know where we are – or how long it’s been. We’re all – we’re all alive–”

He broke of as Delphi grabbed him sharply, a look of sheer poison in her eyes. He took a deep breath, nodding as she let him go again.

“We’re both alive. I’m – I’m sorry that this happened. It was my fault. All of this is my fault. I’m so sorry.”

“I miss home so much. I haven’t seen Scorpius. But he’s alive. He’s okay, I think.”

“Lily and James. Tell them. Tell them I’m sorry. I miss them. I miss you all so much.”

“I’m sorry.”

He closed his eyes as he finished, unsure of what else he could say. He couldn’t give them any clues as to his whereabouts while she stood there, watching every word. But she seemed satisfied with what he’d said, and she laughed. 

“I hope you liked that,” she said. “Because it’s the last you’re going to hear of him.”

She grinned at Albus again, running a hand along his chin and pinching his skin slightly. He groaned in pain, and she nodded, closing the howler.

“There we go,” she smiled. “Shall we send it?”

“Do what you want,” Albus muttered.

He didn’t have the strength to fight her anymore, on any level. He let his eyes slide closed as he slumped forwards, the world going dark.

* * *

“Draco, go home,” Potter insisted, glancing up from his paperwork. “We can’t do this if you’re just running on caffeine.”

“We need to find them.”

“They’ve been missing for over a month. I promise we’ll be closer to find them if you get some sleep and eat something.”

“I–”

“I’ll get someone to let you know the minute something happens. How’s that?”

“Fine,” Draco said. “Fine. A few hours. And then I’m coming back.”

“I know,” Harry nodded. “We – we will find them. We’d know if they were dead. You know that.”

“Yes,” Draco muttered.

He turned to leave when a letter appeared in mid-air above Harry’s desk, immediately starting to smoke at the edges. Harry looked at it, frowning as he took it slowly. 

“I haven’t had a Howler for weeks,” he murmured.

“Open it,” Draco urged.

For some reason, it gave him a feeling of strange uneasiness, as if he needed to know what message it contained. As if something would happen if he didn’t.

Harry sliced through the seal, dropping it on the desk as the flames started to lick around the edges. Draco shivered as voices echoed from within.

_Speak._

A woman’s voice; cool and calculating. Smiling.

_Mum and – and dad._

Harry gasped sharply.

“Albus,” he whispered. “That’s Albus.”

He fumbled for a quill, poised to apparently note down whatever was about to be said as his eyes filled with tears. Draco couldn’t move. He couldn’t comprehend that they had actually been sent a message, that _Voldemort’s daughter _had permitted such a thing.

_I don’t know where – I don’t know where we are – or how long it’s been. We’re all – we’re all alive–_

Silence. Draco stared at the letter, trying to comprehend what had just been said. Scorpius was alive. His son was alive.

_I miss home so much. I haven’t seen Scorpius. But he’s alive. He’s okay, I think._

_Lily and James. Tell them. Tell them I’m sorry. I miss them. I miss you all so much._

_I’m sorry._

Momentary silence. And then the woman’s voice returned, full of pleasure and fun.

_I hope you liked that. Because it’s the last you’re going to hear of him._

A little more silence, and then a groan of pain. Harry flinched and Draco looked at him. He had all but frozen to the spot, tears forming running down his cheeks. He only moved again as the Howler exploded in front of him, the shower of ash covering the desk.

“They’re alive,” Harry breathed. “They’re alive.”

He reached for his pot of Floo Powder, tossing some into the fireplace and calling his wife’s name. Then, he turned around again, staring forward blankly. Draco stumbled back a couple of paces, and collapsed into the chair at the edge of the office, trying to breathe.

Scorpius was alive. Delphi had hurt him, but he was alive. And Albus. Albus sounded broken.

Draco walked over to Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder softly. Harry looked up at him, tears shining in his eyes. Moments later, there was a rush of ash and soot and Ginny stood, wiping dirt off her clothes. She frowned as she took in the scene before her.

“We got a Howler,” Draco explained, someone able to keep a vaguely clear head. “From – that woman.”

“Albus,” Ginny’s expression melted into one of pure fear.

“He’s alive,” Harry breathed. “Gin, he’s alive. They’re both alive.”

“Thank Merlin,” Ginny whispered. “Can we trace it? At all?”

“I – I haven’t…”

“I’ll take it down,” Draco said quickly. “You explain the – the rest of it.”

“The rest of it?”

As Harry explained quietly, Draco scooped the remains of the Howler into a pot that Harry offered him. He sealed it and jogged out the room, speeding up as he reached the corridor.

Within seconds, he stood in the main Auror office, passing the pot to the first person he could find.

“Trace it,” he panted. “Trace where that Howler came from. For the Potter-Malfoy kidnap case.”

He returned to the office after that, sitting down and thinking through all of it. A Howler. Why had she sent a Howler? What did she gain from sending something that might give her position away? 

“Draco,” Harry said quietly, “you were going to get some sleep.”

“After this?” Draco looked at him. “You must be insane.”

“He’s right,” Ginny murmured. “Harry, we might have a chance to find them.”

“We’ll know soon,” Draco said. “As soon as we know, I’ll stop running on caffeine. Until then, there was something that I needed to ask about.”

“Yes?”

“There was another disappearance around the time she kidnapped Scorpius and Albus.”

“Hogwarts Fifth Year,” Harry nodded.

“I think Delphi kidnapped him too. Albus said that they were _all_ alive. And then he stopped.”

Silence.

“No matter how exhausted he is, he wouldn’t mess up his one chance to speak to us. There aren’t many disappearances and this wasn’t her first plan, so it’s almost certainly that fifth year that Albus referred to.”

“Shit,” Harry muttered. “What do we do now?”

“We wait for them to trace the Howler,” Ginny said. “And we do what we can from there.”

“She was hurting him, Gin.”

“I know, but we’ll find him. I promise you, we’ll find him.”

They spent a long time waiting, no one saying a word. Draco didn’t know what he could say. Not being able to hear Scorpius’ voice, and not knowing what state his son was in, partly destroyed any hope that he could hold, but if he had heard Scorpius in the same state as Albus, in pain, there were no words for how he could describe any possible reaction he might have.

Somewhere in the world, somewhere far away, his son was suffering at the hands of a madwoman and he couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t stop any of it. Not when he didn’t even know where they were.

He stood up sharply, muttering something about needing fresh air. He walked to the door, about to hurry down the corridor and up to the street, when he stopped, looking at the group of Aurors hurrying towards him. He followed them back into Harry’s office, biting his lip.

The moment of truth.

“Well?” Harry asked nervously. “Did you manage to trace it?”

“We’ve had nothing yet,” the Auror said quietly. “I’m sorry, sir. We can keep looking, but we don’t know how likely it is that we’ll find something.”

Draco felt his knees go weak. He stumbled back a few feet, pulling the office door open sharply. He needed to get out. Somehow, without him even trying to build it up, hope had started to rise inside him, and now it crashed.

He needed to go home. He needed to be alone. He needed to scream and swear and hit something.

Because he couldn’t do anything else anymore. There was no one he trusted to talk to properly anymore. Astoria had been the only person who had been able to convince him to say anything, and – well – she had gone long ago. Or, it felt like that.

Somehow, it had only been a year. A single year since his world had started to crumble, kept up only by the fact that Scorpius had needed the support to carry on. Now that Scorpius was near-gone, he had nothing. Nothing apart from the desperation to fight for his son.

And the knowledge that he would murder his captor when they found them. He would do that happily, as long as it kept his son safe.

As he reached the street, he disapparated, appearing in the living room, before he screamed out, collapsing onto the floor. So close. They had been so close to finding them. So fucking close.

And it was gone.

He screamed again, reaching for anything he could hold, anything he could use to muffle the sound. Even though he didn’t need to. Even though it didn’t matter because he was alone. Completely alone.

He wrapped his arms around the pillow he had picked up, sobbing into it as he did so. He didn’t know what else he could do anymore. Not after so much of the world had fallen apart.

The only thing tethering him to reality now was the knowledge that if they found Scorpius, his son would need him there. He would need support and love and time. So Draco forced himself to keep going. In the hope that, maybe, eventually, Scorpius would need him.

A month had never lasted so long.

A month. A single month since they had discovered the kidnap, discovered the identity of the kidnapper.

A month of no information. A month of no hope.

Until this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is starting to get a bit intense. Was editing this in the library, bopping and smiling. Yes, I smile while editing torture scenes. Yes, I'm a tad fucked up.  
Thanks for reading.  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	11. Uncertainty In Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: blood, reasonably graphic physical and emotional torture

Weeks passed. Or Albus assumed they did. After the Howler, Delphi left him alone for a long time. He thought about what she’d said, about the insanity of it all, and about what she’d left out. She’d never said what she’d wanted. Not properly. It had just been that one, continuous question until she got bored with torturing him.

It had occurred to him that she had planned something worse, something he would be even less likely to cooperate with. Something that she truly, truly needed. And then she would use Scorpius.

Albus knew that, if Scorpius were involved, if Scorpius got hurt, he would break in seconds. Either that, or they would all die. They wouldn’t survive if she wanted something worse than the answer to a question Albus didn’t know.

Albus knew it was more likely that he would break rather than let Scorpius die, especially if the Cruciatus Curse was involved. He wouldn’t let her do that to Scorpius now that he knew exactly how excruciating it was.

Being left alone for a long time helped, because Albus managed to sleep and eat with vague effectiveness, mainly thanks to Tiago. The two talked a little, mainly to distract themselves and pass the time. Though Albus understood why he didn’t, he wished that Tiago could let slip some clue of where they were. Even though he couldn’t do anything with it, having some vague idea of where he was would have been a comfort. A small comfort.

A small comfort in the midst of the knowledge that he was beginning to struggle to care. He didn’t care whether he lived or died anymore. Months. Months of not knowing and not having anyone care. Months of being without Scorpius. And he didn’t care anymore.

As long as Scorpius survived, he didn’t care whether he lived or died. He just wanted the pain to stop. Maybe she’d get bored soon. Maybe she’d get bored and would see what happened if she killed him.

He could, at times, see what had truly driven Delphi over the edge. The sheer lack of any human company had started to reach him, and he often found himself muttering to himself, simply trying to convince himself that, maybe, he wasn’t alone. Maybe someone had found them. Maybe someone cared.

When Delphi dragged him through to the Hall again, he didn’t express any shock at how close and unpleasant she was. He just sat through it, waiting for the questioning to begin again.

Except, today, he was determined to not give her what she wanted. Today, it didn’t matter what she did, he wouldn’t. Today, for some reason, he had some sort of spirit revived. Maybe that would make her give up, properly. Maybe. If he was lucky. Stupidly, insanely luck.

“Albus,” Delphi half-sang. “Come on. This isn’t any fun.”

She crouched beside him, resting her chin on his shoulder. Her breaths echoed in his ears and he shivered slightly. Her breath seemed so unnaturally warm.

“It’s nearly Christmas,” she grinned. “It’s only a few weeks away.”

“Am I the present?” Albus muttered.

“Yes, you are. That, and your answer?”

“I don’t have an answer,” Albus swallowed. “But I have a question.”

“Ask away.”

“Why? Why are you doing this? Why do you want to hurt us?”

Delphi stopped. She stood up, starting to pull off the jacket. She turned around and Albus found himself staring at her back, covered in a huge, feathery tattoo. He frowned, unable to make sense of what she was trying to say. A bird. What did a bird have to do with any of it?

“You remember when you hated your father?” she murmured.

“I never hated him. He–”

“Exactly. You can’t. You can’t because he’s your parent and parents love their children and you know that.”

“Why is that important?”

“Because you had love!” Delphi snarled. “You had someone who cared about you no matter what. Someone who didn’t mind when you fucked up. Someone who loved you.”

Silence.

“My parents died. They left me with some woman that hated me. It’s a miracle I survived what little childhood I had.”

“That doesn’t justify this.”

“To me it does,” Delphi said. “To me, the only thing that matters is getting back to him.”

“Even though he can’t love?”

“I can change him.”

“Do you honestly believe that?”

“What I believe doesn’t matter here. What matters is that I am going to get the answers from you, no matter what you think.”

“You’ve been trying for weeks. When will you give up?”

“When I die.”

Her grip on his shoulder tightened, and he stiffened. It would happen the way it always did. She would hurt him. She wouldn’t get what she wanted. And he would wake up in another locked room, unable to move.

“What do you think your family will be doing over Christmas?”

“Knowing them, they won’t have stopped hunting you.”

“Well then, I should definitely find out what I need to know now, shouldn’t I?”

Albus remained silent as she stood, starting to play with her wand. If he knew the answers to the questions she kept asking, he would have broken by now. But he didn’t know. He didn’t know the answers. And she never believed him. So it just kept repeating. Over and over and over.

“Shall we start with something simple?”

“Go ahead.”

“When does your father work?”

“Depends. Most days. He takes weekends off sometimes.”

“How does he get to the Ministry?”

“The telephone box. Sometimes he apparates.”

“And how would I go about following him in?”

“I don’t know. I never went to work with him.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Then kill me because I haven’t got the answers you want.”

Delphi screamed out in frustration, and Albus cried out as he flew across the room, slamming into the wall and collapsing. He looked up as Delphi walked towards him, no longer smiling. Blood trickled down the back of his neck, soaking into his shirt, but he didn’t wipe it away. What was the point?

“Why do you need a family who might not even love you?” he muttered as she knelt in front of him. “Why not build your own family?”

“Because I want parents,” Delphi whispered, pulling him closer. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. How do I get into the Ministry?”

“I don’t know,” Albus muttered again. 

“I think you do.”

“You’ve been asking me the same question for nearly two months,” Albus closed his eyes. “I don’t know the answer.”

“Do you want to know what else you could be doing for me? Do you want to know what else I’ve been planning?”

“I don’t care. You’re going to kill me. Eventually.”

“Probably,” Delphi nodded. “But not yet.”

She pulled him back to his feet, laughing as he stumbled, unable to keep himself up. He wrapped his arms around himself, looking up at her helplessly.

“Just kill me,” he muttered. “Fuck. Why don’t you send my body to my parents as a Christmas present?”

“As tempting as that is, I won’t. Not just yet.”

Albus didn’t have the strength to fight back anymore, and he collapsed back to the floor, his eyes drifting closed. The blood had not stopped flowing down the back of his neck, and he felt continually dizzier as time passed.

“I spoke to Scorpius,” Delphi smiled softly. “He wants you to tell me what I want to know.”

“I don’t believe you.”

The world went dark again.

* * *

Draco sat down at the kitchen table silently, glancing up at the clock. It had gone past ten o’clock, and he still sat in his dressing gown, unable to move or do anything productive with himself. After Harry insisted he stop for a day and rest properly, he hadn’t known what to expect, but he felt thoroughly disappointed with himself for not being able to do anything with himself.

Even after losing Astoria, he had been able to carry on. Not always successfully, but he had been able to keep himself afloat. Now, he didn’t know when he had last eaten independently of someone forcing food into his hands and waiting until he ate it.

He closed his eyes. He couldn’t shake the memories of Scorpius’ nightmares that he had coped with through his childhood. He couldn’t shake the memory of the screams that he and Astoria had woken up to, and the thought that Scorpius might be in that sort of pain again.

He felt a tear run down his cheek.

He knew that he had never shown Scorpius how loved he was. Not properly. He had always kept his distance. Astoria had always been the better communicator. He had never known what to do with himself. And the fact that he hadn’t done more to help Scorpius after Astoria’s death was a fact that now destroyed him.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to his feet and dragging himself to the kettle. He needed an objective for the day, something to complete. If he had that, he would be able to do something with himself. Taking the day off, while a good idea in theory, because it meant he would sleep, meant that he had nothing to distract himself from a crushing reality.

So he needed to give himself something. He hadn’t spoken to anyone darker than himself for a few weeks. He could try following that route again. No one would approve, but he didn’t care. As long as it saved Scorpius and Albus, he didn’t care what happened to him.

He pulled a teabag from the jar, placing it in the cup slowly. It took a pathetic amount of concentration. Somewhere in the past minute, he had managed to switch the kettle on, and now it was boiling. He poured it into the mug, swearing as it went all over the worksurface.

It didn’t really occur to him that he was shaking, almost uncontrollably.

He stepped back, looking blankly at the mess of steaming water dripping onto the floor in front of him. And he just stayed, staring at it, until the doorbell rang, however long later.

He flinched, picking up his wand and waving it to open the door. A moment later, he heard footsteps, and he looked up to see Ginny Potter in the kitchen doorway.

“Morning,” she said quietly.

“Morning,” Draco muttered back. “I – I just woke up. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Ginny said. “Do you want some help cleaning that up?”

“Please.”

A couple of seconds later, the water was gone, replaced by a steaming mug of tea that Draco picked up gingerly.

“Do you want something?” he started to offering, half-remembering basic etiquette.

“No, thanks,” Ginny said. “I wanted to ask you – something about Christmas.”

“Christmas,” Draco repeated.

“Do you want to sit down?”

“Probably.”

He did, glancing up as Ginny sat opposite him. The tea was too hot, so he took a swig of it, not caring about the scalding pain in his throat.

“Draco.”

He looked up.

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through,” Ginny said softly. “And, since Christmas is coming up, I thought, you might not want to be alone.”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” Draco admitted.

“I wouldn’t have expected you to, not with all this.”

“How do you cope with it?” Draco looked at her, his eyes pleading. “How do you cope with the fear and the not knowing?”

“I don’t know,” Ginny said. “I’m sorry. I just – I try not to be alone.”

“Christmas?”

“You don’t have to come. I’ll understand if you don’t. But my family are coming to see us, and if you wanted to come, just to not be alone, they’d understand.”

“Thank you,” Draco murmured. “Thank you.”

“It’s okay,” Ginny said. “Do you want me to stay for a bit?”

“I think I was going to – I think I was going to look down some darker routes for finding them. I can’t really remember.”

“What sort of routes?”

“My father or – something.”

“I hope you find something.”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

* * *

Albus, surprisingly, didn’t feel dizzy when he woke up. He attempted to make the most of the feeling as he opened his eyes and sat up, leaning back against the wall. He then jumped halfway out of his skin as he saw Scorpius sat opposite him, staring coolly forwards.

He started to move towards him, going to throw his arms around Scorpius and attempt to make up for every lost moment over the past few weeks. But Scorpius shook his head, and he stopped.

“Scor?” he stared. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t want to be here,” Scorpius said quietly.

Albus frowned. Scorpius didn’t sound upset or scared. More angry, irritated. Scorpius had never sounded like that before. When Scorpius was irritated, he normally had some slightly adorable, frustrated mutter. Never this coolness.

“I don’t want to be here either,” Albus said. “I know. I want to go home.”

“No, that’s not what I was talking about.”

“Scorp?”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Scorpius, what’s going on?”

“I came here to tell you something,” Scorpius said quietly. “I really don’t want to be in this room, but I needed to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” Albus frowned. “Wait, did you get in here on your own?”

“Yes,” Scorpius nodded. “Yes, I did. To tell you that I hate you and I don’t want anything to do with you.”

Albus all but stopped breathing.

He felt his eyes fill with tears. He stared at Scorpius, unable to form words as a response. He didn’t want to believe that Scorpius was sat opposite him, saying that to him. He couldn’t believe that. 

“You don’t mean that,” he said slowly, trying to make himself breathe. “You don’t hate me. You’ve never hated me, even when you screamed at me.”

“You’re the reason we’re still here,” Scorpius spat. “If you just gave her what she wanted, she’d let us go.”

“You don’t know that,” Albus said. “Scorpius, what’s going on?”

“I want to go home,” Scorpius said coldly. “I want to see my family again. And if you just got over yourself and answered her questions, we’d go home. But you won’t. And she’s just going to keep hurting me.”

“She’s hurting you?” Albus looked up sharply. “I thought – I thought she was leaving you alone.”

“Fuck no,” Scorpius muttered. “So get your fucking act together and tell her what she wants.”

Scorpius stood up, starting to walk towards the door, and Albus pulled himself up quickly, grabbing Scorpius and stopping him.

“I don’t love you!” Scorpius spat. “I never loved you! I want to go home, so if you could just do what she wants, I wouldn’t have to risk my own safety to kick you into action.”

“I don’t know the answers!” Albus sobbed. “I don’t know the answers to the questions and she doesn’t believe me when I tell her that.”

“I don’t believe you either.”

“She tortures me,” Albus tried not to let his tears overpower his words. “She tortures me and I can’t stop her. I want her to. If I knew, I’d tell her. I swear I would. But I don’t know.”

“You’re so fucking useless,” Scorpius muttered. “Because you’ve got shit with your dad, you’re going to get me killed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I hate you.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Oh, I do,” Scorpius smirked. “I really, really mean that.”

“I love you.”

“You never said that before.”

“I’m _sorry_.”

“Not good enough.”

Scorpius shook his head, opening the door and slipping out. Albus sunk to his knees, screaming and starting to sob violently. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t just accept that. He couldn’t just believe that his best friend, the boy he _loved_, hated him.

After four years. No one could keep a secret for four years. Surely no one could hate someone over the course of their entire friendship. And Scorpius wouldn’t have started hating him solely because of this. Scorpius wasn’t that sort of person. Scorpius wasn’t resentful. Scorpius didn’t _hate_.

Except, except, Scorpius was an exceptional liar. Scorpius could always hide how he felt, if he wanted to. Scorpius found it as easy to put up a façade as Albus found it to fuck something up. Scorpius had always lied to the world. But Albus had always thought that he was the exception to that.

And maybe he had been. Maybe he had been the exception.

But he had said that Delphi had hurt him. Was it possible to hurt someone enough to turn them on the people they cared about? Was it possible to destroy an image of someone?

He screamed again, curling in on himself and wrapping his arms around himself. Somewhere in all of it, he started to feel unexplainably dizzy, and he felt the back of his head nervously.

It was wet, warm and sticky. But he could have sworn it hadn’t been there a moment ago. He sat up, tears still pouring down his face, and he shivered as he realised his shirt was gone and he was lying on the stone floor with almost nothing to keep his warm.

And yet, he didn’t care. He couldn’t care when Scorpius hated him. When Scorpius didn’t want anything to do with him. Maybe next time, maybe next time, he could lie. He could concoct some sort of believable lie to give Delphi. And then she’d leave them alone.

She wouldn’t let them go. Of course she wouldn’t. But maybe she’d leave them alone. Being alone, being forgotten, would be better than the pain. Being left to die would be better, because at least that would be temporary.

* * *

“You need to eat something,” Tiago’s voice broke through the sobbing and fear. “Albus, you need to eat something.”

“No,” Albus muttered. “No. I don’t want to eat anything.”

“She hasn’t let me give you any food for three days. You need to eat something.”

“I don’t care. Maybe if I die, maybe she’ll give up.”

“She won’t,” Tiago said. “If you die, she’ll torture me and Scorpius and there won’t be a way to stop it.”

“She’s already torturing Scorpius. I can’t stop that.”

“She isn’t,” Tiago now spoke so quietly that Albus could barely hear him. “She hasn’t seen Scorpius for weeks. I’m pretty sure she’s forgotten about him.”

“He spoke to me. He spoke to me and he told me that he hated me because I wouldn’t stop her hurting him.”

“Scorpius is having the basic minimum of food needed to survive. Last time I looked, he could barely move.”

“He told me he hated me. If me dying gets him out, I don’t care.”

“Where the fuck did you get that idea?”

Albus didn’t respond, lying back again and trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. It didn’t matter anymore. None of it mattered anymore. If Scorpius hated him, then he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Tiago’s voice broke through his thoughts again.

“There’s food here for when you do get hungry, and there’s another shirt. I don’t know what she did with your other one.”

And then he was gone.

And Albus screamed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the point where I realise I am an awful person for writing this, but I'm still going to keep making the sequel hurt. Started writing it earlier, funnily enough. Don't know how much I'll get done in the next two weeks though - I have mock exams, and at least seven hours of textiles homework.   
And I'm sorting out my life.  
Okay.  
I'm going to go down this.  
Every time I read about Albus, or think about his journey, I tear up (well, not every time - mainly when I'm tired). Basically, I draw so many bloody parallels between the relationship he has with Harry and the relationship I have with my mum. Up until now, the main difference has been that I have always been too scared to speak up and confront her.   
And I'm going to.   
I have plans to. It will happen. And I need this.  
It's taken three years.   
If it doesn't work, I don't know how badly I will dive (but you'll be able to tell because the amount of Albus angst I would write in that situation is insane).  
Yeah. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to explode here. Probably just an idea about documenting it further as a specific date. Because I am not going to stop being obsessive over dates.  
One anxiety-related issue at a time.
> 
> Thanks for reading  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	12. A Christmas Like No Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: screaming, blood, references to self-harm

Eventually, Albus ate something. Eventually, he accepted that something bigger was at play than just what Scorpius had said. Eventually, he accepted that he had to keep himself alive until he could find out what had actually happened. If he ever did.

He knew that, if he was going to get any answers at all, he needed to confront Delphi, to force her to tell him something. In a situation where he had no power whatsoever, and where he was relying solely on luck and her need to tell people things.

He sat behind where the door would swing open, once he’d managed to drag himself up, huddling and keeping himself as small as possible. He remembered something his dad had told him about a few times. When he had been a prisoner at Malfoy Manor. When they had tricked Wormtail into thinking they weren’t there for long enough to attack him.

Oh Merlin, what was he thinking. What could he possibly think was a good idea in this situation? Attacking her? Attacking her would get him killed.

But that wasn’t what he wanted. He just wanted to see his friend. It wasn’t an unreasonable request. Except it was. And if anyone got hurt because of it, he wouldn’t forgive himself. He would never forgive himself.

When the door opened, he stood up silently, holding his breath as Delphi stepped into the room, looking around with a smirk fixed on her face.

“Albus,” she smiled, “I know you’re behind the door.”

“I want to see Scorpius,” he said coldly, stepping out. 

“You think you can make demands?”

“I want to see Scorpius,” Albus repeated. “It’s been months. I want to see him.”

“You’re adorable,” Delphi smirked, walking towards him. “Well, it’s strictly against the rules. But – well – it is Christmas Day. I suppose I could make some exceptions.”

“It’s Christmas?” Albus stopped. 

“Yes,” Delphi nodded. “Yes, you’ve been missing for two and a half months.”

Albus stopped, his eyes starting to fill with tears. Two months. Two and a half months. Of pain and fear and knowing that he was completely helpless. How long had Scorpius hated him for? How long had it been since Scorpius had stopped loving him?

Had Scorpius ever loved him?

He looked at Delphi again, who was smiling, watching all of these thoughts cross his face silently. 

“Please,” he whispered. “Please let me see him.”

“Oh, you’ve got manners?” Delphi’s eyes filled with faux shock. “Oh then, of course. Happy Christmas.”

Albus stepped closer, taking a deep breath. He didn’t fight the hood as it came down over his head, and he went with Delphi when she pushed him out the room, forcing him this way and that down the corridor. It felt like the route they normally took to the hall, though that always varied slightly.

Except it wasn’t that route, because she pushed him off to the side earlier than he was used to, laughing as he hit the wall. There was the sound of a key in a lock, and then a door opening, and he stumbled inside, still unable to see.

But he could hear a gasp. A gasp from Scorpius. Fear. He could hear Scorpius in fear.

He started to stumble towards the sound, but Delphi caught him, tutting as she took off the hood.

And then Albus saw him.

Scorpius stared back at him, tears glistening in his eyes. The shadows under his eyes were a deep shade of purple, and they further accentuated how thin he looked. He had always been quite slim, but now, his bones stuck out through his flesh, giving him the look of a human skeleton.

He was leaning against the wall, apparently due to exhaustion, and his clothes were fairly close to rags. He shivered. Through the holes in his shirt, Albus could see his ribs sticking out gauntly, and he wanted nothing more than to run to him, to shelter him from Delphi. But he didn’t. Because he didn’t know what was true anymore. He didn’t know whether what Scorpius had said to him had really been said, or whether it had all been some insane fever dream.

Scorpius looked at him, tears starting to streak down his face, and Delphi walked over to him, grinning.

“Please,” Scorpius whimpered. “Please don’t hurt him.”

“Oh, Scorpius,” Delphi’s expression softened. “I have no intention hurting Albus.”

“Don’t touch him,” Albus snarled, realising what was about to happen.

“You asked to see him,” Delphi whirled around. “This is the price.”

She pulled a hood sharply over Scorpius’ face, seizing him by the collar of his shirt and dragging him towards the door. Albus ran towards them, trying to force Delphi away from him, but she threw him backwards, laughing as he smashed into the wall.

And then the door closed. And he was in the dark again.

He sunk down onto his knees, pressing his ear against the door and doing his best to hear what was going on. Nothing. Nothing but deafening silence.

Albus curled his knees up to his chest, cursing himself. Scorpius was getting hurt, no doubt brutally, because he hadn’t been able to keep himself quiet. Because he hadn’t been able to keep his curiosity under wraps.

The screaming started.

Albus screamed out as Scorpius’ shouts of pain rang through the room, somehow echoing through the walls around him. He curled in on himself, trying to block out the sound, block out every thought that came with it. He screamed, but it didn’t stop the sound. It only joined his shouts with Scorpius’. And it didn’t stop either of their pain.

He forced himself to his feet, starting to tug the door-handle sharply. It didn’t move, but he kept trying. There was nothing else he could do. Nothing except scream Scorpius’ name, pleading with Delphi to stop, even though she couldn’t hear. Even though she was probably laughing.

He couldn’t stop moving. He couldn’t stop himself from moving because, if he did, he would remember why Scorpius was in pain. He would remember that all of it was his fault, because he had felt so much need to see Scorpius that he hadn’t considered the consequences.

He hadn’t considered this.

He hadn’t considered it because he was stupid and selfish. Because he didn’t ever think about what would happen. He never thought about the possible consequences and because of that, they were here. Because of that, Scorpius had been tortured by Delphi for days in an alternate reality. Because of that, so many people had suffered unnecessarily.

And now she was torturing Scorpius again.

* * *

No one spoke. No one knew what to say. Supposedly, bringing the family together, being there for one another, had been a good idea. But all it did was highlight the empty chair. Because no one had sat in Albus’ favourite chair. No one had sat in that chair since his kidnap. Almost as a mark of respect for him.

Ginny refused to think of it as a memorial. She refused to believe Albus was dead. Not after the Howler. Not after that small diamond of hope.

It had been deliberate. A deliberate ploy to get hopes up again, only to let them crash and burn. And, though Ginny didn’t like to admit it to herself, it had worked. The hope that they would find Albus had been dredged up again, and she hadn’t fought it. She hadn’t had the will to fight it. They all desperately needed something to cling to, even if it came to nothing in the end.

She looked up as Lily sat down beside her, silent and almost blank. That was another thing that broke Ginny’s heart. The change she had seen in her other children. Once, Lily would have been bouncing off the walls, full of excitement because it was Christmas and why wouldn’t anyone be?

And now, instead, she sat silently, almost emotionless, as she watched the room. Ginny took her hand and she looked up. She bit her lip, wiping away a tear that was in the process of running down her daughter’s cheek.

“I miss him,” she whispered. “I miss him so much.”

“I know,” Ginny nodded. “I know, Lily.”

Lily leaned into her mum, curling up as more tears ran down her cheeks. Ginny wrapped her arms around her, her own eyes starting to fill with tears. She couldn’t be a comfort to anyone. Not even her own daughter. She had nothing that she could say.

The two of them looked up as James came towards them, a solemn expression also fixed on his face. Ginny sat up a little, placing an arm around him as he sat down on the sofa. He leant his head on her shoulder, and she squeezed his hand.

And they just sat, silent and still. There was nothing anyone could say, and even if there had been, it would not have been said.

There was nothing anyone could say, nothing at all. Unless it was the wrong thing.

The three of them looked up as the doorbell rang again, and Ginny allowed a small shadow of a smile to cross her face. Despite their history, she was glad her invitee had decided to come.

“Who’s that?” someone asked.

“Someone I thought might appreciate not being alone today,” Ginny stood.

She walked through to the hall and opened the door. Draco Malfoy stood in the porch staring at his hands, with which he fiddled continuously. 

“Morning,” Ginny said. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Draco replied quietly.

“Come in,” Ginny stood aside. “It’s cold.”

She closed the door behind Draco, leading him through to the lounge. Everyone looked up as they entered, but no one commented, returning to what they had been doing.

“Thank you for inviting me,” Draco murmured. “Is there anything I can do to help out?”

“Mum’s in the kitchen, but you don’t have to.”

“I’d like to,” Draco said. “If that’s okay. I need to keep myself – busy.”

“Yeah,” Ginny nodded. “Mum probably has something we can do.”

“Thank you.”

Ginny felt like a child. She hadn’t gone looking for chores since she was seventeen, and it had been the only way to even begin to distract herself. And, as she and Draco padded down towards the kitchen, she felt more and more like the part of herself from twenty years ago. The part that had loved. The part that had lost. The part that had shut out the entire world.

She didn’t want to become that again.

“Thank you for coming.”

“I needed to. The manor is eerily quiet. When it was only Astoria – her loss – that quiet – it destroyed us – and without Scorpius…”

“I can’t imagine what it’s like,” Ginny said. “I’m so sorry, Draco.”

“When we find them,” Draco muttered, “I’ll murder that woman.”

“There’s a long queue of people who want to. I don’t think even Harry would object.”

“Where is he?”

“Still working. He didn’t want to take a day off. Can’t say I blame him.”

She pushed the kitchen door open, breathing out slowly. The kitchen was, surprisingly, empty, and an owl perched at the window, rapping on the glass. She walked to it, allowing it to hop out of the cold. The parcel it carried was large and flat and she reached for it nervously. As soon as the package had been released from its leg, the owl hopped back out the window, taking flight.

Ginny took the paper off, unfolding the cloth inside. She breathed in sharply as she fingered the tattered remains of a school shirt, covered in dirt and – and a bloodstain that spread from the collar.

She searched for the name label, stumbling backwards as she read the words printed on it. The words she had printed mere months ago. Her son’s name.

She picked up the card that had fallen out of the package and read it out shakily.

“Your son suggested I kill him and send his body to you as a Christmas present. I–” she broke off, starting to sob. “I can’t do that. So – so you can – have this – instead.”

She dropped the card, stumbling backwards with her hand clasped over her mouth. And then she screamed. She struggled to keep herself upright, and when Draco’s arm snaked around her, she leant into him, sobbing into his shoulder.

Her son was getting hurt. Her son hurt so badly that he’d wanted to die. Her son had been destroyed by a phantom that had tricked him into trusting her.

She stumbled again, burying her face in her hands. The kitchen door opened.

“Ginny?” her mum was at her side. “Ginny, what’s going on?”

“Albus,” Ginny cried. “She’s – Albus…”

“We should go to the Ministry,” Draco said quietly. “Ginny.”

“Yeah,” Ginny nodded. “I – I’m sorry, mum.”

“Don’t apologise,” her mum said softly, wrapping her arms around her daughter. “I’ve got you.”

Ginny leant into the hug a little, and then she straightened up, looking at Draco. She took a deep breath, picking up the shirt and the note and moving towards the fireplace.

A few more deep breaths, a handful of Floo Powder, and a lot of spinning later, she was stood in her husband’s office, watching Draco emerge from the fireplace. Harry looked up, frowning at them, and Ginny bit her lip.

“Has something happened?” Harry asked. “Gin, what’s going on?”

“I got a package,” she whispered, placing the shirt and note on the desk. “There’s no way to reply. The owl flew away before I opened it.”

“It’s Albus’ shirt,” Harry murmured. “She – she sent this?”

“Read the note,” Ginny muttered. “I – I don’t know what to do.”

“We find her,” Harry said coldly. “We find her and we make sure she can never hurt anyone again.”

Ginny nodded. Harry stood, wrapping his arms around her. She let herself cry. She just – let – herself.

* * *

Nothing Albus did could block out the noise of the screams and, when it finally did end, he wasn’t entirely sure that it had, because the sound still rung in his ears, never leaving him alone. He curled up against the wall, letting himself sob into the silence. Letting himself fall as far as he possibly could.

And then the door opened again and he looked up.

Scorpius stumbled into the room, collapsing in the centre and looking around wildly, despite the hood still being over his head. Albus almost threw himself towards him as Delphi appeared in the doorway, grinning.

“I did say you could see each other,” she said.

And then she closed the door and Albus looked back at Scorpius. Now that they were alone, he could see more of the damage Delphi had done Scorpius over the two and a half months. Or maybe he’d done it to himself.

His arms were covered in long scratches, some of which looked as though they had bled several times, and the parts that weren’t looked almost like sticks. Ghost-pale sticks.

“Scorpius,” Albus murmured. “I’m going to take the hood off, okay?”

“Albus? Albus, are you there?”

“I’m here,” Albus nodded, “I’m here, and I’m going to take the hood off.”

Scorpius nodded and Albus started to untie the base of the hood, lifting it off gently. Scorpius stared back at him, somewhere between disbelief and near-joy, and Albus allowed himself a small, small smile.

“Hey,” he said nervously.

“She let you in here,” Scorpius said slowly. “She let you…”

“You’re happy to see me?”

“I – I’ve been so scared. I thought…”

“I’m here now,” Albus promised. “I’m not going anywhere for now.”

He pulled Scorpius into a hug, allowing Scorpius to practically melt into him as he lay back. He smiled. Despite everything, he smiled. Because whatever had been said, whatever he thought Scorpius had said, hadn’t been said. It hadn’t been Scorpius. And he didn’t care what it had been. That didn’t matter.

“I love you,” he whispered, almost afraid Delphi would hear. “Scorpius, I – I love you.”

“You do?” Scorpius’ mumble was exhausted and drowsy.

“I do,” Albus nodded, “and I’m sorry that I didn’t say that when I had the chance. I should have. Keeping it secret – except it wasn’t – I just – I didn’t say. I’m sorry.”

“I love you too,” Scorpius murmured. “And I’m sorry that I can’t be – here. I want to see you. I want to talk. But…”

“It’s okay,” Albus said quickly. “Sleep. You – you need it.”

“I need to talk to you first,” Scorpius said. “She doesn’t come to see me often. I can sleep later.”

“Scorpius – she just–”

“I don’t care,” Scorpius said sharply. “I – I need to talk to you. I need to prove to myself that I’m still here, that _you’re _still here.”

“I am,” Albus murmured. “Just about. Has she – has she – hurt you – before?”

“No. She just leaves me here.”

Albus let out a small breath of relief. At least he could rely on that, rely on the fact that Scorpius wasn’t getting hurt. Even if he had quite literally been left to starve. Delphi wasn’t hurting him.

He adjusted the way he was lying as Scorpius curled up beside him, laying his head on his shoulder. He looked at him, a tear trickling down his cheek as he did. The pain and suffering painted across his face was indescribable, and Albus vowed to himself, then and there, that if they ever got out, he would spend every waking moment trying to right what Delphi had done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I promise it looks up from here. I promise. Surprise character next chapter. I think you'll like him. I really hope you like him.   
Thanks for reading  
Kudos and comments much appreciated   
Twitter: @evieadams273


	13. Glimmers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: food, symptoms of depression, mentions of killing,

Lily lay back on her bed, sighing as she stared upwards. The ceiling was bare. The ceiling was always bare. Everything about her dormitory was always exactly the same. Because she never had the energy to change any of it anymore.

After Albus had disappeared, she had promised herself that he would be back soon, back within a few days. Then within a few weeks. Then within a month. Then within two months.

And now, she was lying in bed, three and a half months later. And Albus still hadn’t been found.

She rolled over, wrapping her arms around a pillow and burying her face in it. If she did that, no one could hear her crying. No one ever heard her crying. Because she didn’t want them to. It was stupid. She should have been helping. She should have been doing more than just lying in bed, unable to move or do anything for herself.

She had homework to do. She always had homework to do. She never did it. And she never turned up to the detentions. She didn’t care. She wanted to care. She wanted to care so badly that it hurt. But she couldn’t.

People had suggested, more than once, that she go home, that she get some help, but she never did. She didn’t want to burden her parents with looking after her when they were trying to devote their efforts to finding Albus. She kept telling herself, almost obsessively, that if they found Albus, everything would be okay.

But they hadn’t even come close.

And the closest they had come was when the situations had been controlled by Albus’ kidnapper.

Lily refused to give her a name. Lily refused to humanise her.

She screamed out, the sound muffled by a pillow, even though she didn’t really need to muffle it anymore. Everyone else was in lessons.

And she hadn’t turned up.

Again.

She had even lost the will to attempt to research about the kidnapper. She felt like she had read every history book in the library, and now she couldn’t remember the last time she had been in Neville’s office.

“Lily?”

“Go away,” Lily muttered, not looking to see who it was, and not caring.

“Lily, it’s me.”

“I don’t care.”

Silence again.

Until a weight settled on the bed beside her and she looked up to see her brother sat beside her, smiling sadly.

“Not now, James.”

“I’m not going to lecture you on not being in class,” James said softly. “I came to see if you’re okay.”

“I’m not. Can you go away?”

“Not without turning the stairs into a slide. I don’t want to fly down as well.”

“You flew up here?”

“I did,” James said. “Because I got a letter from Teddy.”

“And?”

“He’s been talking to some people. He’s going to do his best to find Albus.”

“Haven’t we all been doing that?”

“Not in the way that he wants to.”

“Right,” Lily muttered. “Right. Okay.”

She looked up at the ceiling again, searching for something to say. Because she didn’t want to say that she thought that, whatever Teddy was planning on, it wouldn’t work. He was searching the entire world for Albus. The likelihood of actually finding him, of coming anywhere close, was so utterly minute that it didn’t even seem worth thinking about.

Or maybe she just didn’t want to give herself hope anymore.

She had gotten hopeful before. She had gotten hopeful too many times. And nothing had ever come of it. Nothing except self-loathing and the crushing feeling that came with the knowledge that Albus might not even be alive.

Except he was. They had gotten a Howler. The Howler from Albus, saying that he was alive. That Scorpius was still alive too.

And on Christmas Day, a note saying that he had asked to die.

But that she couldn’t ‘do that’.

Which meant he was still alive. He had to still be alive. If he wasn’t still alive, if it had all been some unhinged, sadistic trick, Lily didn’t know if she would come through that.

It hadn’t occurred to her before exactly how much her brother meant to her. She hadn’t ever thought about a situation where he wouldn’t be there. Even though Albus had never attempted to be hugely close with either her or James, she had never considered a situation where he wouldn’t actually be there if she needed him. Because, as much as Albus shut himself away, he was there if she needed him. He was always there.

And now that he was gone, now that it was a possible that she might never see him again, the world had come crashing and she couldn’t do anything except sit in the rubble and lose hope.

“Have you eaten anything today?” James’ voice cut through her thoughts.

“Hm?”

“Have you eaten anything today?”

“No.”

“Are you hungry?”

“No.”

“Can I stay?”

“Please don’t.”

James lay back beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and Lily felt her eyes fill with tears. And then they started to pour down her face and she buried her face in James’ shoulder, sobbing loudly.

“I miss him,” she cried. “I miss him so much.”

“I know,” James murmured. “I know. I miss him too.”

“Do you think they’ll find him?”

She didn’t want the answer. She didn’t even know why she had asked that, but she knew didn’t want an answer. But she couldn’t stop it now. She couldn’t stop the inevitable.

“I do,” James nodded. “I don’t know when. But we will find him.”

Lily nodded, starting to sit up a little. James moved with her, keeping an arm wrapped around her. She drew her knees up to her chest, biting her lip.

“I don’t want to go to class,” she muttered.

“Then don’t,” James said. “Come downstairs if you want. We’ve all got a vague recollection of what you’re learning, if you want a bit of a recap. If you don’t, then it’s okay.”

“I should probably try and catch up on what I’ve missed. I’ve missed a lot.”

“Okay, well, take it slow. Alright?”

“Yeah,” Lily nodded. “Yeah. I will.”

* * *

After Christmas Day, Albus didn’t see another living soul for longer than he could contemplate. He never saw Delphi. Tiago never appeared. If he ever went to sleep, there would be pitiful amounts of food when he woke up. He never saw anyone else.

He didn’t really understand how it didn’t drive him insane. Maybe it was the hope that, every time he went to sleep, he might wake up while someone was in the room. He slept a lot. Because he managed to exhaust himself with pacing. Back and forth and back and forth because he didn’t have anything else to do.

He stopped after blisters started to form on his feet. Stopped to take his shoes off. And then he started pacing again. It hurt. Which he liked. He liked the reminder that he did exist and that it wasn’t simply his consciousness in a box.

The pain acted as an anchor. And he embraced it wholeheartedly.

Despite what had happened on Christmas Day, Albus remained wholly grateful for the better parts of that day, because it had given him hope. Tiny little seeds of it, and they were closer to death than growth, but they still existed. The knowledge that, whatever he had thought Scorpius said, had not been said, and that Scorpius still loved him, was enough to keep him afloat.

He didn’t know how long it did. But it didn’t stop.

He assumed that it wasn’t Scorpius who had said those things, and as he thought more and more about it, he considered that it had perhaps not even happened. The fact that his head had been badly injured, and that pain had only returned once Scorpius had left, struck him as strange. He hadn’t asked Scorpius about it, but it had occurred to him that, if Delphi had been running Voldemort’s world, then she would have powers that he couldn’t even imagine.

If she was a Legilimens, and one inspired by Voldemort, using his own mind to torture him was probably her idea of fun.

It had all been in his head. Or that was what he needed to be true. He needed it to be a vision that hadn’t really happened. He needed to believe that. It would make it slightly easier to deal with.

Sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep and he couldn’t keep pacing, he thought about that fact. Over and over and over, he would play the conversations he’d had with Scorpius, until he had remembered every minute detail and he could sleep knowing that he wouldn’t dream.

And his existence evolved into this. Into every day being the same. Into not even being able to tell the days apart. He never saw any light. He struggled to eat the small amounts of food he was provided with.

Somehow he didn’t die.

The door opened one day. Or night. And Albus looked up wearily to see a human standing in the doorway. Another physical person. He almost didn’t care that she was the one responsible for locking him up in the first place.

She walked in, grinning at him as she did. He remained silent. Completely and utterly silent. Because he didn’t want to get hurt. He couldn’t take that anymore.

“Good morning,” she said. “How are you?”

“How long?” Albus mumbled.

“Where’s the fun in telling you that?” Delphi said sweetly. “Get changed.”

Albus started to form some sort of point that he couldn’t because he had no clothes, but then he spotted the bundle of cloth at Delphi’s feet. She nodded at it, and he picked it up slowly, trying to see what it was. Then he looked up at Delphi.

“Can I have some privacy?” he mumbled.

“Get changed.”

Albus unfolded what transpired to be a blazer, a shirt, and some trousers, and started to pull the remains of his own shirt off. He kept his eyeline low, trying to pretend that she wasn’t there.

As he pulled the clothes on, a feeling of cleanliness quite literally washed over him, and he frowned. But he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to make her angry. He wouldn’t survive making her angry.

Once he had changed, he pulled himself to his feet, and Delphi pulled another hood over his head. He went with her as she walked him out the room and along a new route through wherever they were. Or maybe it was the old route and he had managed to forget.

They stopped, and Albus flinched as Delphi’s grip on his shoulder tightened, before she turned on the spot, and suddenly everything was pressing in on him, stopping him from moving or drawing breath. He was dead. Surely he was dead. Surely this was what death was.

And then it stopped, and it took all his strength not to collapse onto the floor and keep walking with her. There was some sort of breeze around him and he glanced around, despite the hood, trying to feel it on his face. He was outside. He was outside for the first time in a thousand years.

He started to try and reach for the hood. He didn’t even want to see. He just wanted wind on his face. Or something. Some sort of proof that good could still exist in the world.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Delphi hissed in his ear.

“The wind,” Albus muttered. “I want to feel – it.”

“Put your hands down.”

“Please…”

“Now.”

Albus obeyed, tears forming in his eyes. But then he felt Delphi’s hands near his throat, and he nearly stopped breathing. Until the hood started to move up his face, stopping before he could see.

But the wind hit his face and he smiled at the feeling. At the feeling of having some vague idea that he was outside, on top of a hill. He kept walking as the hood fell over the rest of his face again and Delphi pushed him on.

* * *

When the hood came off properly, Albus stared around at himself. He stood in a small room, apparently an antechamber to an office, and everything was lavishly decorated, like something from royalty. Delphi forced his hands behind his back and snapped her fingers so that ropes appeared around his wrists. She pushed him towards a chair, and he sat in it, staring at the floor.

They remained waiting there for a long time, silent, almost unnerving, until Albus plucked up the courage to ask a question. To ask where they were. Or something similar. Something that he was brave enough to ask.

“What are we doing here?” he muttered.

“I have been attempting to fix some business,” Delphi said quietly. “They wanted proof that I can do what I say I can.”

“And I’m the proof.”

“Did you expect to be anything else?”

Albus didn’t reply, biting his lip. He knew that he was kidding himself if he’d expected to be treated with any decency whatsoever. Anything that he might have had was now gone because he had asked to feel the wind on his face.

But it had been worth it. The confirmation, through something other than pain, that he was still alive, still _human_, was worth it. It felt like hope. And he didn’t know where it had come from, but it had come, and he was incredibly grateful for it. Any hope, any hope at all, would keep him afloat for a little longer.

He looked up as a door opened and a tall man stepped into the room, a slight smirk fixed on his face. He had dark hair hanging down his back in a plait, and his robes were a deep navy colour. Albus met his gaze and looked down quickly. He didn’t want to do anything wrong. He didn’t want to make Delphi angry.

The man crouched down beside him, running a hand under his chin. He didn’t move, trying not to look him in the eyes.

“He’s very small,” the man commented, a slight hint of an accent in his voice. “He didn’t look this pathetic in the photos.”

“I’m wanted,” Delphi scowled. “I can’t just go and buy food. And he’s still alive.”

“Just about.”

The man stood up and Albus kept staring at the floor as the two of them left the room, locking the doors behind them. He was alone again. It was quiet again. But he could see. He could see because of the daylight. Because of the window.

He glanced around silently, before tiptoeing towards it, breaking into a small smile. A window. A world. He could see an outside world. He could see mountains and snow and the outlines of trees and hope. He could see hope.

He reached his hands up to the window, ignoring the ache of reaching from behind his back, and lifted the latch, and he pushed the window open. The wind rushed in, almost knocking him backwards in its strength and coolness, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care that he started to shiver with enough force to wake the dead.

He could see the outside, he could _feel _it. That was more than he’d had in months. Or maybe it was years. He didn’t know anymore.

And he didn’t care.

He could see the outside.

He only wished Scorpius could see it too.

He sunk down onto the window seat, curling in on himself as the wind whistled through his ears. They’d punish him when they came back. They’d be angrier than he could ever imagine. But it would be worth it. Maybe it would be worth it.

It would be. During the weeks or months he had been alone, he had thought, time and again, that he would give almost anything to be able to see the outside again. The outside, or Scorpius. Because he knew he wouldn’t be allowed both. He wasn’t stupid.

But now, he could see the outside, and maybe Delphi would be soft, because he was a bargaining chip. Because he had to survive, and he was barely doing that at the moment.

He looked up weakly, a few minutes later, as the door opened. And when he sat them, he knew there was little he could do to prepare for the onslaught they were about to throw at him. He bit his lip.

Delphi practically stormed towards him, seizing his collar and pulling him up, before the man behind her coughed and she stopped, turning to look at him.

“What?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” he said calmly. 

“He is my prisoner,” Delphi snarled. “I will do what I want with him.”

“I won’t be taking any deals with you if you kill him.”

Delphi released Albus and he sunk back onto the carpet, not able to find the energy to move. Delphi scowled at him, her foot edging in the direction of seemingly wanting to kick him, but she didn’t. 

“Is this really necessary?” she muttered.

“You want me to invest in your little project?” the man spoke calmly. “I want to meet your oh-so-precious asset.”

“You have ten minutes.”

“I have all the time that I want,” the man corrected her. “You are not in control here. Remember that.”

“Fine,” Delphi scowled again. “I’ll be outside.”

Albus flinched as the door slammed behind her, and then he sat up slowly, looking at the man. He beckoned him into the room Delphi had been inside, and he stood slowly, doing his best to walk steadily through the door.

Once he was sat down in the other room, the man sat opposite him, holding out his hands expectantly.

“Sir?” the word caught in his throat.

“Your hands.”

“Tied behind me, sir.”

“Okay.”

Albus was slightly unsure as to where the formality had come from, but he remained silent as the man stood up again, walking behind him. Albus held his breath as he stopped, before staring up at him when the ropes disappeared. He stared down at his wrists, and then up at the man as he pushed a large hunk of bread and a mug of water into his hands.

“Eat. You need it.”

“You’re not angry?”

“Would you like me to open the window?”

“Who are you? I don’t know who you are.”

“A friend.”

Albus opened his mouth to say something, to protest or something, when the man’s hair flashed a few different shades of blue and Albus slumped.

“Teddy,” he breathed.

“Hey, Albus,” Teddy smiled, crouching beside him and placing his arms around him.

“You found me,” Albus whispered, leaning into him.

He took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around Teddy properly as soon as he’d put the mug down. Teddy held him tightly, rocking him back and forth as his eyes started to fill with tears. And they just stayed – for a long time.

When Albus let go, he sat up properly, taking small bites from the bread Teddy had given him. He watched Teddy sit down again, and then he asked the question.

“How did you find me?” 

“Several dodgy contacts and a shitload of luck,” Teddy said. “Are you – are you okay? In any sense of the word.”

“I haven’t seen anyone since Christmas Day,” Albus mumbled. “I don’t know how long it’s been.”

“It’s April twenty-sixth,” Teddy said. “I’m so sorry, Albus.”

“Did she say anything about Scorpius? I haven’t seen him. I don’t know if he’s okay.”

“She mentioned Scorpius,” Teddy nodded. “He’s alive.”

“Thank Merlin,” Albus let out a breath of relief. “I – I didn’t know – after Christmas.”

“Your parents said she sent your school shirt,” Teddy said. “Covered in blood. With a note saying you’d asked to…”

“She sent it to them?” Albus felt his breathing starting to quicken. “I – I didn’t know. I thought. I didn’t think she would. I’m sorry.”

“Has she hurt you since then?”

“She hurt Scorpius. And I haven’t seen anyone since then.”

“I’m sorry,” Teddy said quietly. “Look, if we go now, there’s a back entrance. We can go home.”

Albus stopped, the thoughts crossing his mind, one at a time. If he went home with Teddy, he’d be able to heal. He’d be okay. No one would be able to hurt him again. He would be okay.

But Scorpius, and Tiago. Scorpius and Tiago wouldn’t survive. And he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t put them at that level of risk.

“I can’t,” Albus said. “I’m sorry.”

“Your family–”

“If I escape, she’ll kill Scorpius and Tiago. I can’t do that.”

“Okay,” Teddy nodded. “Okay.”

Albus bit his lip, his eyes starting to fill with tears again. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see his family. He wanted nothing more than for all of it to end. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t abandon the people he cared about to Delphi. He couldn’t abandon _anyone _to her.

“How are my family?” he asked quietly.

“Your parents aren’t giving up hope,” Teddy smiled a little. “They’re looking harder than ever. Your brother, he’s kept going, though I don’t know how okay he is.”

“He’s good at hiding,” Albus nodded. “What about Lily?”

Silence.

“Teddy? Is Lily okay?”

“She’s struggling,” Teddy admitted. “She’s really, really struggling.”

“Tell them, tell them I love them,” Albus mumbled. “Tell them I’m sorry. I love them.”

“I will,” Teddy smiled softly.

“And Draco,” Albus said quickly, “tell Draco that Scorpius loves him. I’ve only seen him once. But Scorpius would want him to know.”

“I will,” Teddy nodded. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“I won’t be,” Albus said. “But if I leave, two people will die. I can’t do that.”

“You’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever met,” Teddy reached out to take Albus’ hand and squeeze it reassuringly. “It’s going to be okay.”

Albus smiled at him a little, before another thought occurred to him.

“You can’t come here again,” he said. “She – she can get inside my head – somehow. If she knew about you…”

“Okay,” Teddy nodded. “Can I see your wrist?”

Albus held out his hand, not questioning, despite his burning curiosity. Teddy took out his wand, placing it in the centre of the veins and muttering something. Albus winced as a small white light materialised under the surface of his skin, and he looked at Teddy.

“It’s the strongest tracker I can get away with putting on you,” Teddy explained. “Even if you’re going with her, I can’t just watch you go. Your family – and Draco – they’re a mess.”

“Tell them…”

“I will,” Teddy nodded. “Draco – Draco has been especially bad. But we have a way to find you now.”

“Hurry,” Albus murmur. “I don’t know how long we have left.”

Teddy nodded, and Albus downed the last of the water before swallowing the bread, and Teddy bit his lip.

“I’m sorry to throw you back into this,” he said quietly. “I’ll do my best to keep her – happy.”

“Thank you.”

Albus looked down at the desk, trying to hide his hope as Teddy walked to the door and opened it. Delphi strode into the office, throwing a glare at Albus, who didn’t respond.

“Well?” 

“I’m not going to take your deal.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your selling point is a half-dead teenager who is likely well on his way to developing severe trauma issues. That’s no use to anyone.”

“So you’re backing out?”

“I never made any deal with you. Now get out of my home.”

Delphi scowled at him, seizing Albus by the collar and shoving the hood back over his head. Albus stumbled as she forced him to move, trying to make the most of the breeze in the room. And then it was gone and he was walking back to captivity.

And he had hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we haven't had a torture scene and there's some hope. That is a new one. Short chapter next, and then we're on the home straight (or the home gay (Please don't hate me (I like to think I might be funny)))  
Thanks for reading  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	14. Decisions Larger Than Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: references to depression

Teddy almost sprinted down the Ministry corridors, ignoring the shouts from around him, telling him that he couldn’t run in the corridors, or he didn’t have authority to be somewhere. He burst into Harry’s office, not remembering to knock, and stopped, panting, as Harry looked up.

He was in a meeting with several vaguely important looking people, and Teddy tried to ignore that he had probably just messed up whatever he had interrupted. This was equally important. 

“Teddy?” Harry frowned. “What’s going on?”

“It’s about Albus,” Teddy panted. “I – I need to talk to you.”

“Albus?” A thousand emotions flashed over Harry’s face as he stood up. “What’s happened?”

“Mr. Potter,” one of the men sat at the desk said irritably. “We were discussing–”

“I’ll reschedule it,” Harry said quickly. “I’m sorry, but this could be a matter of national security.”

“A missing child–”

“Three missing children,” Harry corrected sharply, “kidnapped by a woman who previously attempted to rewrite history and resurrect Voldemort. She is a threat to pretty much everyone, so yes, I’ll reschedule this meeting. I apologise for the inconvenience.”

He nodded to Teddy, who followed him out of the office and down the corridor, almost at a run. 

“Ginny and Draco need to hear this too,” Teddy called as they went. “This could change everything.”

Harry nodded, skidding to a halt outside another office and pushing the door open. Teddy followed him in, realising that it was Hermione’s room, and he nodded a hello to her as she stood up.

“What’s going on?” 

“Teddy says he needs to talk to us about Albus,” Harry explained. “All of us.”

“Okay,” Hermione nodded.

Minutes later, Harry, Ginny, Draco and Hermione stood in the office, watching Teddy expectantly. He looked at them, trying to work out the best way to explain what had happened. There was no good way to go about it, so he had to just dive in headfirst and hope for the best.

“I – I’ve seen Albus,” he started to slowly.

“Where?” Harry demanded. “How? What happened?”

“Harry,” Ginny said, her voice somewhat distant. “Let him explain.”

“I went searching for him,” Teddy explained. “Because of the Metamorphagus – thing – I can get a little more – into it – than you might be able to.”

“You did what?” Harry stared.

“I pretended to do business with that woman,” Teddy said. “She was using Albus as quite a large bartering point. Seemed to think he could be used as collateral. I insisted on seeing him before I made any deals.”

“What deal did you make?” Hermione said sharply.

“None,” Teddy said. “I cut all ties before coming back here.”

“Did she work it out?”

“No. If she’d worked it out we’d probably both be dead. Let me – let me explain.”

He took a deep breath, fiddling with the ring that he had forgotten to take off. They wouldn’t take this next bit well. 

“I spoke to him,” he murmured. “I asked to speak to him alone. She let me. I told Albus who I was.”

“And you didn’t think to bring him back?” Harry stared. “Teddy–”

“I tried,” Teddy said calmly. “I told him that we could leave and get away. He wouldn’t. Because she still has Scorpius and this other boy – Tiago – and him leaving with me would have endangered their lives.”

“Scorpius,” Draco said sharply. “Did he say anything about Scorpius?”

“He hasn’t seen Scorpius since Christmas, but she mentioned him. He’s alive.”

Draco looked visibly relieved at that, and Teddy tried to give him a vaguely reassuring smile. 

“Albus was,” he started again, “Albus wasn’t in a good way. He hasn’t seen daylight or another person since Christmas. He’s lost a lot of weight. I – I don’t know if he’ll survive much longer.”

“She might kill him?” Ginny’s expression melted into pure fear.

“No,” Teddy shook his head. “She doesn’t intend to kill him, I don’t think – he is an asset. But through neglect – I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Silence.

“So what now?” Hermione asked. “Where did you meet them?”

“Abandoned castle in the alps that I fixed up a bit to make it believable. I don’t imagine they’re anywhere near that.”

“Where can we look?”

“I put a tracker on Albus. It’s weak. But it’ll do something.”

“You put a tracker on him?” Draco looked up hopefully.

“A weak one,” Teddy nodded.

He pulled out his wand, forcing himself to concentrate properly as he muttered the charm. A thousand little lights swelled from the end of his wand, swarming to form a globe in the air above him. And, somewhere in the middle of a mass of countries, was a bright splodge of light.

“That’s Albus,” he smiled. “Albus is there. Somewhere.”

“Can we get any closer?” Harry asked.

“No,” Teddy shook his head. “I opted for a weaker tracker in the knowledge that she can’t tamper with or confuse this one. If she finds it, she can break it, but she can’t change its location.”

“Thank you,” Draco said quietly. “Thank you so much.”

“So, we move the search to – Sicily?” Ginny asked.

“I can speak to the Minister today,” Hermione nodded. “We can get clearance within hours, and then we can get several teams in.”

“Thank you, Teddy,” Harry said quietly. “We – if this works – this is down to you.”

“I just want them to be okay,” Teddy said. “Albus – Albus said to tell you that he loved you, and Lily and James. And Draco, Scorpius loves you.”

“Thank you,” Draco whispered.

And with that, he watched everyone disperse to various places, unsure of what he should do. He was exhausted, but he didn’t want to sleep. He didn’t want to just ignore what could be happening.

He moved to follow Hermione as she left but she shook her head, telling him to go home and get some rest. He nodded at that, Flooing home and sitting down at the kitchen table.

He didn’t want to try and sleep. Not while he could still see Albus in his mind’s eye. Albus, barely a shadow of a figure. Albus, not even attempting to talk back or fight. Albus, not able to do anything except sit, because Delphi seemed to have come close to breaking him.

Teddy hoped, desperately, that it had been, in part, act, with his safety in mind, and that he hadn’t actually been broken. Albus had always seemed like the sort of soul that couldn’t be broken, and if he had been, Teddy didn’t know how much hope he had left.

* * *

Ginny sat in the corner of Harry’s office, watching him pace back and forth. They were still waiting for clearance to begin searching and, while it had only been three hours since Teddy had turned up, they were both incredibly on-edge.

The knowledge, the possible hope, that they had a chance of finding Albus, after so many months, was overwhelming. And not being able to make a start hurt. 

“Should we tell Lily and James about this?” she asked.

“Hm?” Harry stopped pacing.

“Should we tell Lily and James?” she repeated. “They deserve to know, but I know it might be a security threat.”

“They won’t breathe a word,” Harry pointed out. “They know how important this is. And they need to know Albus left them a message. They deserve to know that.”

Ginny nodded, and took a breath. Something had been plaguing her mind for a long time, and now that there was a glimmer of hope, she knew that she actually had to say something about it.

“I think we should pull Lily out of school,” she said quietly, “at least for a while.”

“Oh?”

“She’s not doing well,” Ginny explained. “Her schoolwork has all but dropped off and she keeps missing lessons. If we took her out, we could take the pressure off her and help her heal.”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. “How long has she been this bad?”

“Three weeks or so, according to James. He’s trying to keep an eye on her, but he’s got NEWT work which is a mountain in itself. Not that he’s doing brilliantly either.”

“Would she be okay with coming home?”

“I’ve asked her. She said she doesn’t want to make our lives harder or hinder the search for Albus, but we can’t just ignore this. She’s getting worse. She won’t just snap back once we find Albus.”

Harry nodded, sitting down next to Ginny. She took his hand, squeezing it in an attempt at reassurance. He smiled softly.

“James said that she came down to the Common Room and sat with him and his friends for a bit a couple of weeks ago. They gave her a bit of help catching up with some of what she’s missed. James said that she seemed a little better like that.”

“We can talk to McGonagall,” Harry nodded. “As soon as this search is sorted, we can talk to her.”

“You should go on the search,” Ginny said. “You’re good at this, and one of us should be there when they’re found.”

She stopped a little short. She kept saying ‘when’. Not ‘if’. Apparently, hope was already having an effect. She didn’t want it to. She didn’t want it to on the basis that it might not work, that Albus might not be found. But she couldn’t help it. It had been too long. 

“Do you think we’ll find them?” Harry asked quietly.

“Maybe,” Ginny bit her lip. “I know we’ll do our utter best, and you won’t stop searching. And this is the best chance we’ve had in months.”

Harry nodded, smiling hopefully at her again. She returned it, biting her lip as she stopped. The door opened. And Hermione came in, almost running. She nodded at Harry, who stood immediately, sprinting out the door. And Ginny let out a breath of relief.

“We’re going to find them,” she murmured, more to convince herself than anyone else. “We’re going to find them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for the first time, I think this may have been an almost no trigger warning chapter. It was also half the length, which may explain why.  
However, come Saturday...*evil laugh*  
Thanks for reading  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	15. Dearest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: this chapter contains most of the normal stuff, and some really, really graphic violence

Tiago came into the cell three days after Albus had seen Teddy. Albus sat up as he did, smiling a little. Tiago didn’t return the expression, putting the food down slowly and standing up again. Albus started to stand, frowning as Tiago backed away.

In all the months that Albus could remember, Tiago had never attempted to ignore him or shut him out, and the fact that he was now scared Albus. It meant something had changed. Something was different, and it would affect all of them.

Tiago glared at him a little, and Albus sat down again, but he didn’t let go of his questions.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“Welcome back,” Tiago muttered. “It’s been months.”

“I’m sorry,” Albus mumbled, though he didn’t know what he was apologising for.

“Technically it’s not your fault that whoever it was didn’t take her deal.”

“Oh. Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, it’s her fault as well. She’s realised that torturing you again would kill you.”

“She’s been hurting you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, she has.”

“I’m so sorry, Tiago. I – don’t – don’t lose hope?”

Tiago shrugged and shut the door as he walked out. Albus sighed, leaning back against the wall. He couldn’t say anything more. He couldn’t say anything to give him more hope than that. Not when they would be listened to. Of course they would be listened to.

He drew his knees up to his chest, closing his eyes. Soon. Soon. Maybe.

Teddy would have told his parents. They would be looking. They would be looking for him. But when even he didn’t know what country he was in, what sort of building they were being held in, what sort of spells Delphi had defending the place, there was very little hope that he could draw from that.

Maybe they had already been found, and it would take months for them to come anywhere to breaking through the spells. At which point, Delphi would have moved them and it would all begin again.

He didn’t want to die at Delphi’s hands, either through violence or neglect. He didn’t want to die not knowing whether Scorpius was alive or dead. He didn’t want to die.

But he wouldn’t tell her that. He wouldn’t beg. He wanted to have some dignity, if she was planning to kill him.

The door opened again and he didn’t fight as Delphi did the usual thing of blindfolding him and forcing him into the darkness. She seemed slower as she walked him towards what he assumed was the hall. Albus didn’t question it. It wasn’t worth his safety for an answer he didn’t need.

When they arrived in the hall, he backed away from her instinctively as she advanced with an unpleasant smile on her face. Albus did his best to guard himself from her, which included shutting off his mind to hide it from her.

But when she started to talk, that started to fade. He fought to keep it up, because he knew that she was attempting to distract him, but it was difficult. Because every time he looked as if he was tuning her out, she yank his head up again.

“Did Scorpius ever tell you what they called me in the other world?”

No response.

“They called me the Augurey. I chose that. I chose that because my guardian had that bloody bird when I was growing up. I wanted to remember her. And how awful she was.”

No response.

The only thing he could concentrate on properly was keeping the shield around his mind intact.

And he was glad he did, because claws started to scrape at the walls he had clumsily built. He did his best to keep them upright, fighting back when he could, but she was much stronger than him. Unsurprisingly. She was trained in this. Somehow. Somehow, someone had taught her how to break into another person’s mind.

“Come on, Albus,” she whispered, “you’ve got something to hide. You’ve never tried closing off your mind before.”

Albus writhed violently, clawing at his head to try and get her out of his mind. And when she finally stopped, she seized him by the shirt and dragged him to the edge of the room.

“What’s this?” she pushed him up against the wall, her elbow digging into his throat.

“What’s what?” Albus coughed.

“This little thought.”

Albus screamed out as her claws forced their way back into her mind, scraping through his thoughts as he writhed and fought to get out of her grasp. He could feel her getting closer and closer to the thoughts that he needed to hide. To the thoughts that would get him hurt, get Scorpius killed.

He screamed again, trying to force Delphi out of his mind. But she was stronger than him, and he couldn’t force her back. Not until she let him go and he fell to his knees, curling in on himself.

“Albus,” Delphi half-sang. “Did you honestly think you could hide this from me?”

“Hide what–”

But the images were already flashing through his mind, forcing him to see Teddy’s disguised smile, his own hope. The knowledge that they might be okay.

“Oh, that’s adorable,” Delphi squealed. “You had hope.”

Albus didn’t have the strength left to fight her as she pushed him onto his front, kneeling beside him. He flinched as she placed a knife in the small of his back, balancing the point against his skin.

“You should know by now,” she hissed, “that you shouldn’t try to go behind my back.”

Albus held his breath as the knife sliced through his shirt and her hands ran down his back as she unfolded his shirt. The knife was lain between his shoulder blades and he flinched a little.

And then he shrieked with pain as the knife sliced down his back, tearing through his flesh. Blood started to pour from the wounds, soaking through his shirt. Making it warm and sticky and uncomfortable.

He screamed, begging and pleading with her to stop, but she didn’t, continuing to gouge chucks out of his skin. The blood started to pool around him where he lay, and he screamed again as a feeling of dizziness started to overwhelm him.

He couldn’t see. And then he couldn’t breathe.

And it hurt. It hurt so much.

It was easier, so much easier, just to let go, and let himself slip away.

So he did. And Delphi’s laughter started to fade as he did so, though the pain got worse and worse. More of his blood trickled from more wounds in his back. More of his world started to darken around the edges. More of his life started to fade.

And he let go.

* * *

Scorpius drew his knees up to his chest as the boy set the food down next to him. He never said anything when the boy was there. He didn’t know who the boy was. He almost didn’t want to know. He was helping the Augurey.

Or maybe he wasn’t.

Scorpius had never asked.

He was always too far under when he saw the boy. Too deep in his thoughts. Too scared to think straight. Too far gone to concentrate on anything other than the pure fear inside his mind.

When Albus screamed, he heard it. When she hurt Albus for whatever reason, he heard it all. And he couldn’t do anything to stop his agony. He couldn’t do anything to stop the pain of the boy he loved.

Sometimes, when it was particularly awful, he could hear his mum’s screams within it all. When she had been really sick, there had been a day when the pain potions hadn’t come on time, and his dad hadn’t realised. In the hour it had taken to get the potion, Scorpius had held his mum’s hand while she screamed with pain. She had asked him not to. He had stayed.

He hadn’t wanted her to be alone.

He hated it. He hated it all. He hated that he hadn’t been able to help her then. He hated that he couldn’t help Albus. He hated that, sometimes, he could hear the Augurey’s laughter, and with that, the insanity within the plot.

The plot with no logic, with nothing to tie it to reality. Nothing except the screams of pain.

The only thing that he could take from the screams, the only thing that gave him hope, was the fact that they did exist. And that, for them to exist, Albus had to be alive. Albus was still alive, so he still had hope.

Scorpius looked back at the boy, biting his lip. Maybe he should ask. Maybe he shouldn’t assume that the boy was evil. He seemed familiar, but Scorpius could barely remember the sound of his dad’s voice, let alone the identity of other people.

He swallowed, forcing air into his lungs.

“Who are you?” he asked quietly.

“Pardon?”

“Who are you? I didn’t ask.”

“I’m a kid she kidnapped to help her,” the boy shrugged. “It’s not important.”

Scorpius nodded, trying to make sense of it. He didn’t seem happy with what he was doing. He didn’t seem particularly unhappy. He just seemed – emotionless – empty. And Scorpius couldn’t fault that. Not when he himself didn’t have the strength to move most of the time.

He looked up as the door opened sharply and the boy moved away from him, keeping his head down. The Augurey entered, a slight grin on her face. Scorpius closed his eyes, trying to keep his breathing even vaguely steady as she stopped walking.

In the seconds that he had been looking at her, he had seen red stains on her hands. Bloodstains. Blood on her hands. And when Albus had been screaming so much, he knew that it would only be Albus’ blood.

He gagged, raising his hand to his mouth in a pitiful attempt to stop himself retching up the few pieces of food he had managed to force down his throat. The Augurey laughed, the sound echoing through the silence, and he took a breath, eyes still closed.

“Albus is in the hall,” the Augurey said. “Take him back to his cell and clean him up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the boy muttered, walking out.

Scorpius opened his eyes, starting to move. The mention of Albus and the knowledge that he might be in pain reached through him more than anything, and he moved with it.

“What did you do to him?” he groaned, leaning against the wall. “What did you do?”

“He had hope,” Delphi sneered. “So I took it away. Can you blame me?”

“What did you do?” Scorpius started to cry.

“He won’t die,” Delphi rolled her eyes. “Well, he probably won’t die.”

Scorpius sunk back against the wall again, trying not to let himself fall. He wasn’t weak. Or rather, he was so determined not to be weak. For Albus. He had to stay strong where Albus couldn’t.

“There was something I wanted you to do for me,” Delphi smiled. “Just – just send a message for me.”

“To who?”

“That doesn’t matter, but I’ve written it out. I just want you to read it.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Do you really want to ask that?”

Scorpius stopped, taking the slip of parchment that she handed him. His eyes darted over the words written before she coughed, prompting him to speak.

“She – she knows – she knows what you did. She knows about – about Lupin.”

“If you try to find us, or come here, she will – she will…”

“_Read it_.”

“She will kill us.”

He finished, screwing up the parchment as he did. Tears started to streak down his cheeks, and he sat down, staring up at her. She grinned at him as she walked away, and Scorpius started to sob.

There was very little he could do.

* * *

When Albus drifted back into consciousness, he could still feel blood, dripping from his back onto the floor. He assumed that he was in his cell, but he couldn’t find the strength to open his eyes and see.

Someone was sat beside him. Or kneeling. Or just – there. They had glass objects that kept clinking against one another.

“Tiago?” Albus groaned.

“Don’t move,” Tiago muttered. “She hasn’t given me dittany this time. I’ve got no idea what this stuff is going to do.”

Albus grunted in response, unable to make any other sound through the pain. His shirt stuck to his back, crinkled and tough now that it had been soaked in his blood. It was possible that his back was still bleeding badly, but he couldn’t really tell. Everything just felt damp and warm.

“Okay, I’m going to use the potion thing,” Tiago said. “If this hurts, I’m sorry.”

There was a moment between the feeling of coolness on his back and the stinging pain, but when it hit, he screamed, writhing in pain. Tiago swore, moving back sharply, and the pain subsided. Albus fell limp again.

“Sorry,” he whispered. 

“Here.”

Albus frowned as Tiago passed him a jumper, before Tiago prompted him to scream into it. Albus didn’t really know whether it would help, but he lay back on the floor, bundling the jumper up into his mouth and screaming into his as his back started to sting again.

He screamed and sobbed, begging for it to stop as it got worse and worse and worse. Tiago didn’t, apparently ignoring him, and he kept working. On what, Albus didn’t know.

He couldn’t understand how something meant to heal him could cause so much pain, and he couldn’t entirely believe that it would be healing. He couldn’t help but wonder if the liquid pouring over his back was the ‘healing’ thing, or his own blood.

When it finally stopped, the stinging did not fade immediately and he lay, sobbing quietly, on the floor. Tiago moved to sit near his head, taking his hand while he cried.

“Tell me about your life,” he murmured.

“What?” Albus grunted.

“Talk to me. Distract yourself. Tell me about your family.”

“What was that potion?” Albus muttered.

“It wasn’t a potion,” Tiago admitted. “I’m assuming it was some sort of disinfectant. It’ll kill the germs. But it won’t heal it outright.”

“Right…”

Silence fell and Albus closed his eyes, trying to pace his breathing to control the pain. It didn’t work. He decided to try what Tiago had suggested. If it worked, it worked. If it didn’t, he could let himself pass out and it would be okay. Vaguely okay.

“I have a brother and a sister.”

“Oh?”

“James is funny sometimes. He teases me. But I think he cares. He hides it. A lot.”

“He’s got a reputation to maintain and all that,” Tiago sounded as if he was smiling a little.

“Yeah,” Albus mumbled. “Lily – Lily is kind to everyone. She cares so much – and – and I – I wish that – I should have – I was a bad brother.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t think that.”

“I don’t – I don’t know what she thinks…”

He groaned in pain again, and then took a few breaths before continuing. Tiago had been right. It was helping. Somewhat.

“My mum – I love my mum – I think she understands – I think she understands me.”

“What about your dad?”

“We fight – a – a lot.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

He paused.

“Scorpius? How’s Scorpius?”

“He’s alive,” Tiago murmured. “He doesn’t talk much. In his room, you can hear the – the sound. He’s normally crying when I see him. But he’s alive.”

“Thank you,” Albus mumbled. “Thank you.”

“I have to go now. Try get some sleep. I’ll see if she’ll let me have any dittany.”

“Thanks…”

* * *

Draco received the Howler in the early hours of the morning. He didn’t know why it was addressed solely to him, but he knew didn’t have time to get to the Ministry before it exploded, taking its message with it. So he opened it there and then, and listened to the message in horror.

“She – she knows – she knows what you did. She knows about – about Lupin.”

His son’s voice echoed from the parchment, full of fear and pain. And Draco collapsed back into a chair, trying to concentrate on the message. It wasn’t easy when all he could hear was his son’s hurt.

“If you try to find us, or come here, she will – she will…”

The fear building in his chest came second only to the sheer anger and determination to punish the monster who had caused it all.

“_Read it_.”

The monster responsible for a rift that might never heal.

“She will kill us.”

And with that, the letter exploded, and Draco swept the ashes off the table, taking a deep breath. He couldn’t concentrate on the fear and pain occupying his son’s voice. He had to think about what he would do.

He should tell Harry. He knew that. The Ministry needed to know about the new threat. Because it would affect how they searched. It would make them more cautious. It would keep everyone safer.

He started to stand up, stopping again as another letter materialised in front of him, addressed to him in Harry’s handwriting. He picked it up, slicing it open and pulling out the letter.

_We’ve found them. Going in at 2100._

Draco put the letter down, taking a deep breath.

There was no stopping them.

He couldn’t delay finding his son.

They would be fine.

Whatever happened, they could be stronger than her.

They would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So maybe I'm editing and post-prepping to procrastinate getting off my bed and doing either textiles homework, or an art commission. But I like this chapter. Somehow. I like this chapter.  
Thanks for reading   
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	16. How To End The World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: violence, torture, bit of carry-on of the graphicness of last chapter

By the third day, or maybe later, the disinfectant didn’t seem to have made any difference to Albus’ wounds. Everything still hurt like utter hell, and he spent most of the time fading in and out of consciousness.

Most of the time, he was also shivering with cold sweat, and the world was vaguely blocked out by a feeling of nausea. His back started to hurt more and more, though he didn’t look to see what had happened – he could barely move.

At one point, Tiago came in and tried to help him eat something. He managed it, but then vomited it all back up. Tiago didn’t try to make him eat again, clearing up the mess as best he could, before sitting down next to Albus and talking to him again.

Albus didn’t entirely understand why Tiago did this, but if he did have the strength to answer, he didn’t have the strength to object. He didn’t have the strength to do very much at all. So he just answered the questions Tiago asked him if he could find a voice. And if he couldn’t, he just closed his eyes and drifted further out of consciousness.

After however many days in this state, he started to exist with a little acceptance as to what was going on. He had started to, somewhat, adapt to the pain, and was a little more awake when he noticed that Tiago was starting to stand up, glancing around nervously.

“Where are you going?” Albus groaned.

“Downstairs,” Tiago murmured. “I – there’s someone – someone’s here. She told me to go downstairs when she has guests.”

“Family…” Albus said weakly. “They might be…my family…”

“I can’t risk it.”

“If it – if it is – my dad…ask them about our last – fight…so you know…”

“What happened?”

“He told me – he told me he wished…I weren’t his son…sometimes…”

Tiago nodded, closing the door as he walked away, and Albus let himself fade again. It might all be over soon. Or it wouldn’t be. And he’d be dead.

* * *

The only blessing that Scorpius could take from any of the next few days was that there was no screaming. He assumed it was days passing, because he didn’t actually know whether the boy’s appearance was regular or not. If he was permitted food once a day, then nearly a week had passed without any screams.

He never heard anything more about Albus, though he tried to assume that he wasn’t dead. If was dead, then the Augurey would have boasted this fact to him. Over and over and over.

Because she was still a cloaked figure behind a messy façade that never grew truthful. She still made little to no sense, and she still terrified Scorpius more than anything he could have ever had a nightmare about as a child.

The memories from her office in the other world. The never-fading screams ringing in his ears. The worlds that she had shattered. None of it would ever disappear. And that was based off the idea that, maybe, there was a chance that they would be found.

One day. If they were very, very lucky.

It was a hope that he didn’t really believe himself.

He couldn’t when even his dreams were beginning to forget the sight and sound of his dad. He had long lost the knowledge of what his mum’s voice had sounded like. It had disappeared in the time when he hadn’t had strength to cling onto it. He only remembered Albus because of those precious few hours where they had been allowed to see each other.

He had started to fight again after that. Seeing Albus, having Albus there, even in both their states of being half-dead, had given him enough strength to fight back on the rare occasion that the Augurey came in.

At the very least, he forced himself to smile at least once a ‘day’. Smiling meant he had something to be happy about. If he had hope and happiness, even if it wasn’t really there, then he hadn’t let her take control.

He looked up as the door opened and the Augurey strode in, looking incredibly irritated. She didn’t speak as she pulled Scorpius to his feet, blindfolding him and forcing him out the door. He stumbled a few feet as she pushed him down the halls.

She laughed as he caught a wall with his hand and groaned in pain. They kept moving, and Scorpius’ thoughts started to race.

The Augurey had never walked with this sort of purpose. That meant something. That meant she was planning something.

The Augurey always talked about what she was doing, always boasted and spoke louder than necessary. Her silence meant everything. Her silence meant that something was happening.

Scorpius would die soon. He was fairly sure of it. It had to end soon, and when it did, it would probably be a mercy. Dying would bring an end to everything, would stop all the pain, all the forced smiles. And it didn’t seem to matter anymore.

He’d lost all but the last dregs of his hope that they would escape this place. Maybe dying was the better option. Maybe Albus would be found and would be able to carry on living.

Maybe the rest of the world would be happier in the knowledge that he was dead.

When Delphi let him stop walking, he stumbled a bit, but didn’t get far. She still had her hands near his throat, and her nails scratched the surface of his skin.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I need your help in getting rid of some rather pesky intruders,” Delphi giggled.

“What?”

“Did you not get my second Howler? I gave fair warning that if you attempted to come here, I’d kill the three children in my care.”

“If you lay another hand on–”

“No, no, no!” Delphi stamped her foot violently, and Scorpius flinched. “You don’t talk.”

“Why not?”

Scorpius froze as the words echoed through the room. He knew that voice. That voice was faded in and out of his nightmares for months. That voice was a fast-fading hope. That voice had taken him to the best and worst of places, but it was his rock.

He started to murmur to himself, fighting somewhat against Delphi’s vicelike grip. Delphi sighed exasperatedly, pulling the hood off so that Scorpius could see. He blinked a few times, attempting to adjust to the light, before his exhausted gaze landed on the people on the other side of the hall.

On his dad.

On hope.

On everything that he had clung to in an attempt to remain sane. Smiles and laughter and love and hope. Everything that was all but gone but had taken the longest to fade.

And now he was staring at him, at the person he had promised himself would save him. Except it was his life on the line. And now he cared.

He cared about his life. He didn’t want to die. He wanted to survive, and get to Albus. And go home. He wanted to go home.

“Well, Draco,” Delphi sneered. “Now that you’ve ruined my lovely plan, perhaps you’d care to see something.”

“Take your hands off my son!”

“No.”

Scorpius flinched as Delphi’s grip around his throat tightened and he struggled to draw breath. Once upon a time, he would have fought back, fought to get to his dad, but he didn’t have the strength anymore.

He didn’t fight back as he ran out of oxygen, his knees starting to buckle beneath him. She dropped him and he curled in on himself, coughing violently. He started to crawl towards his dad, but the Augurey seized him again, dragging him back to his feet.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she squealed, digging her nails back into his throat.

“Please,” he gasped, “please…”

Part of him could hear movement, and he felt himself crash onto the floor as a hundred flames exploded around him.

As he lay, continuing to cough violently, on the floor, the shouting and noise grew more and more intense, and Scorpius curled up, trying to shut it all out.

And then he screamed as another curse washed over him, its scalding pain finding every inch of his skin to burn and tear and destroy. He writhed, sobbing and screaming as the pain crashed over him, again and again and again.

The noise had long stopped.

Once it was over, Delphi dragged Scorpius back to his feet, and giggled softly in his ear. Scorpius felt his eyes start to drift, and he let his knees buckles again.

Delphi didn’t get a chance to comment on this, as something came colliding into the two of them, pushing them both to the floor.

Scorpius curled in on himself, starting to shake as the world went dark. He was alone, but it wasn’t silent. There were screams, all around him. His mother’s screams. His mother begging and sobbing and pleading for him to help her. Even when he couldn’t, when she understood that.

He screamed, shaking in the dark as he attempted to block out the sound coming from inside his mind. It did nothing, and he simply writhed in pain and fear.

He wanted to die.

Death would bring release.

And then it stopped. And he wasn’t dead.

The only noise came from the sounds of hundreds of footsteps, and shouting. Lots of shouting. Scorpius curled in on himself, whimpering with the fading pain. The darkness had been replaced by light, but he didn’t open his eyes.

He didn’t care anymore. He had come too close to death to give a damn about a way back. Because there wasn’t one. There couldn’t be a way back from what she had done to him, to Albus, maybe even to the other boy. Maybe death, maybe death would be best.

He flinched when a hand landed on his shoulder, opening his eyes slowly to find his gaze fixed on his dad. He blinked a few times, trying to make sure that it was real, that it wasn’t just a product of some sort of madness.

“Dad…daddy?” he asked hesitantly.

“My boy.”

And he pulled Scorpius to him, engulfing him in a tight, desperate hug. Scorpius clung on with what little strength he had left, as he sobbed and sobbed into his dad’s shoulder. Because, after months of not even being able to cry in an expression of his emotions, his eyes filled with tears. His dad rocked him back and forth, murmuring to him. Reassurances and promises that turned to the remnants of a memory.

Poems and songs and stories that his mum had told them, that his dad had told them. Poems and songs and stories from a time when they had been happy, said in the hope that, maybe, they could be happy again.

And Scorpius clung onto all of it. Because, with every passing moment, he able to ignore a little more of the fear. Slowly. And not all of it. But a little.

Even the noise, the sheer chaos of it all, managed to fade. Fade a little. And Scorpius’ thoughts started to clear a little. He started to look around properly, forcing his eyes open.

“Albus…” he started to say. “Where’s Albus?”

“They’re going to find him,” his dad murmured. “We’re going to St. Mungo’s.”

“There’s another boy,” Scorpius said. “There’s another boy here…”

“We know,” his dad nodded. “We’ll find them both.”

Scorpius nodded slowly, sitting up a little. He didn’t let go of his dad, as he saw Ginny Potter hurrying towards them. She started to talk in a hushed, terrified voice, saying something about what had happened to Delphi.

They had caught her. She had been secured. She was en-route to Azkaban. She wouldn’t get away.

Scorpius breathed a little easier at that.

“Albus…” he mumbled. 

“We’re going to find him now,” Ginny promised. 

“Thank you…”

He watched her run away, leaning back into his dad’s arms. He couldn’t let go. He would never let go again.

“We’re going to St. Mungo’s,” his dad murmured. “Okay?”

“Okay…”

“Do you want to apparate or Floo?”

“Either,” Scorpius mumbled, groaning in pain again.

“Okay. I’m going to apparate.”

Scorpius nodded, standing up with his dad slowly and somehow remembering to breathe in before the pressing sensation of nothingness surrounded them. He clung on desperately, attempting to not be separated again.

When the crushing sensation ended, Scorpius collapsed onto the floor, unable to keep himself fully upright. It wasn’t simply exhaustion anymore. It was the noise and sheer number of people bustling around. All making a sound.

His dad helped him stand up, supporting him as they limped through the crowds. Scorpius didn’t know where they were going, but he didn’t really care. As long as his dad didn’t leave him alone. As long as he wasn’t alone, he would be okay. He had to promise himself that.

They arrived in a room and Scorpius sat down, covering his ears. There were still people everything, still too much noise. He could hear people talking. Tests and health and things that needed to happen and too much. Too much noise and light and fear and–

He drew his knees up to his chest, starting to rock back and forth. Someone – his dad – sat next to him, and he wrapped his arms around him again, sobbing into his shoulder.

“Don’t let go,” he begged. 

“I won’t let go,” his dad promised. “Do you want to sleep? I’ll be right here. The whole time.”

“Read to me?” Scorpius mumbled as he lay down. “Like – like – mummy…”

“Okay.”

Draco sat up on the bed and Scorpius curled up in his arms, closing his eyes as his dad started to speak softly. A story Scorpius used to love. A story he had grown up with. A story that reminded him of home, of safety.

He let himself fall asleep.

* * *

There was noise everywhere and Albus didn’t understand why. Footsteps and shouting and chaos. Almost as if there were someone else there. Almost as if they had been found.

But he couldn’t hear Delphi, in any capacity.

So he had to be asleep. It had to be a dream.

He tried to shut it out, knowing that it would pass sooner if he forced it out. The world would pass faster if they didn’t know he was there.

His back still felt as if someone was continually tearing through his flesh, and he felt incredibly unwell. Like he might vomit again if he moved. Though he didn’t know what he would vomit, having not eaten since previously emptying his stomach.

He groaned in pain, closing his eyes as the door opened. He didn’t care. He didn’t care if Delphi killed him. If he was going to die, it meant that Scorpius was already dead, and dying would be a mercy.

Dying would stop the pain. Dying would mean he got to be with Scorpius. Dying meant that she wouldn’t win.

Except, he could hear familiar voices in the doorway. So maybe it was a dream. A stupid dream that insisted on further torment. Because his mother couldn’t be in the doorway. His mother hadn’t found him. His mother couldn’t be arguing with other people over whether or not it was safe to come near him.

But still the words continued, and Albus moaned, trying to move to block the sound out. He couldn’t keep listening. He couldn’t keep thinking a fever dream really existed. He couldn’t pretend that. He couldn’t have hope.

“Albus?”

“Not real,” Albus whimpered. “Not real.”

He flinched as a hand appeared on his shoulder, mustering what little movement he had and looking up.

Looking up to see his mum.

“Mum…mama…?”

“Sweetheart.”

He let her help him sit up, collapsing into her as she wrapped her arms around him gently. And then he shrieked in agony as something brushed his back and the pain re-exploded through his skin.

But he didn’t let go. He couldn’t let go.

And then someone else was beside him. Someone who he couldn’t exactly see in the darkness. But someone he knew. Someone he remembered for a hundred things. A hundred things that didn’t matter anymore.

“Daddy…”

He started to cry. He started to sob, because he knew he wasn’t dreaming. He knew that this, all of it, was real. He knew that he had been found and he would be okay. Eventually, he would be okay.

But it didn’t really matter if he was if he was, because he wasn’t the important person here.

“Scorpius…” he mumbled. “Where’s…Scorpius…”

“He’s at St. Mungo’s,” his mum said. “We’re going there now.”

“No…no…find Tiago…”

“People are looking for him. We need to look after you.”

“No…you…he’s waiting – he’s waiting for you…”

Albus didn’t care if they left him to find Tiago. Tiago was infinitely more important than him. He could wait, and if he didn’t survive, then at least he’d seen his parents again.

They were discussing it over his head, murmuring quietly. He started to fall under again, leaning into his mother’s arms at the overwhelming exhaustion.

“Find him…” he mumbled. “He’s – he and Scorpius…more important…”

“Take him to St. Mungo’s,” his mum said quickly. “I’ll find Tiago and be there as soon as I can.”

“He’s…he said…downstairs…he said…”

“Okay. Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you…love you too…”

And with that, the world faded to black again, and the pain subsided.

* * *

Tiago rammed the chair under the door handle, doing his best to remain silent. There were a thousand strangers behind the door. None of them knew who he was. If they worked for Delphi, then they would hurt him, because that’s all they ever did. And if they didn’t, they would think he did, because he was the only one even vaguely free to roam through the building. Though he didn’t even know what type of building.

He walked to the edge of the room, sinking down into the corner and covering his ears. If he waited, it would all be over. If Delphi was gone, he could find some Floo Powder and get away. If she wasn’t, then life would carry on like it always did now.

He did his best to picture his life before everything had happened. It always did something to calm him down, though he could never truly be happy when thinking about it. Because there were little things, little things that he could never know now.

He didn’t know whether he still had a home. Things had always been volatile at the supposed ‘home’ that he lived at over summer. But now that he had been gone for that long, he didn’t think that he would still have a place to sleep when he got back. If he got back.

He hadn’t had many friends before, so that part didn’t matter. But the larger part, the part with love, that did matter. That mattered more than anything he could face at his captor’s hands. Knowing that he’d had love when he had been taken, and knowing that love was unconditional, meant the world and beyond.

But now that he had been gone for this long, now that the world had moved and changed and turned, he didn’t know if it would still be there. He hoped it was, because that knowledge had pulled him through the continuous ordeal. But he knew the reality was that people mourned and moved on.

He looked up as something rapped against the door, stopping himself breathing as it did so. Until he heard his name.

“Tiago?” a woman called. “Tiago, are you in there?”

He stayed silent.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to take you home. Will you let me in?”

Another silence.

“Tiago?”

“How do I trust you?” Tiago called, thinking better of that than waiting for them to blast through the door.

“My name is Ginny. I’m Albus’ mum. If you let me in, I can talk to you. I won’t come near you if you don’t want that.”

“You’re his mum?”

“I am, yes.”

Albus had said something, something to say to them. To make sure it was really them. Or something like that.

“His last argument,” he started slowly. “What did his dad tell him? In that argument.”

“Harry lost his temper and told Albus there were times he wished he weren’t his son. He regretted it immediately, and wants to apologise.”

Tiago didn’t reply, walking to the chair and pulling it out from under the handle. He pulled the door open, before pulling himself and the chair away from it, using it as some sort of shelter. Or weapon.

The woman behind the door had placed her wand on the floor, and she remained still when she saw Tiago. He stared at her for a moment, before standing up, still keeping a hand on the chair.

“Where are Albus and Scorpius?” he asked quietly.

“We’ve taken them to St. Mungo’s,” Ginny said calmly. “Are you okay to go there too?”

“Where is Delphi?”

“On her way to Azkaban.”

Tiago slumped, allowing himself to start to smile for the first time in months. Delphi was gone. Delphi couldn’t hurt him anymore. Which meant he could go home. Or, as far home as he could get.

He nodded, letting go of the chair and walking towards Ginny. He could trust her. And he had no other way home. She smiled softly at him.

“Can I apparate?”

“Go ahead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left. I cannot believe this. I also cannot believe how much harder the sequel is being in terms of writing. I mean I'm on chapter three after how many weeks (I mean, yes, I've had mock exams, and a nervous breakdown of sorts, but still). Anyway, yes, this is nearly over. And I can't really believe that. This has been such a major thing in my head, and I have literally loved every second. Thank you if you've read this far and will read the last chapter too.   
Anyways...I'll just save the long speech for Saturday.  
Thanks for reading.  
Kudos and comments much appreciated  
Twitter: @evieadams273


	17. The Intricacies of One Building

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: general after-effects of trauma, panic attacks,

Albus didn’t usually sleep on his front, and waking up like this confused him a little. Saying that, Albus didn’t usually sleep on what felt like a mattress. Albus didn’t usually have a blanket. Albus didn’t usually sleep.

He kept his eyes closed, savouring the lack of pain in his back, though he still felt a tad nauseous. That might have, however, been something to do with the bright lights around him. He had existed solely in semi-permanent darkness, for months. If there was now light around him, it was bound to throw his body a little.

The light was accompanied by a quiet buzz of background chatter, which further threw him into a world of confusion, until he made himself think clearly about where he had last been conscious.

And he opened his eyes.

His parents were sat in chairs by his bedside, both smiling softly as he squinted in the brightness. He tried to smile back, but it didn’t really work, and he rolled over a little so that he could see them better.

“Morning,” he started to say, before it occurred to him that he had very little idea what time of day it was.

“Morning,” his dad smiled wider. “How are you feeling?”

“Doesn’t hurt as much now,” Albus mumbled. “Can I – can I sit up?”

“Carefully,” his mum nodded. “Here.”

She stood up and wrapped an arm around him carefully, helping him to roll over and sit up so that he could see them properly. Before she could sit again, Albus hugged her tightly, holding on for what felt like dear life.

Once he had finished hugging his mum and she was sat down again, he looked at both his parents again, unsure of what to say. None of it felt real. Part of him felt fairly sure that he would pinch himself and wake up back in the cell, alone again.

He glanced around, his eyes starting to swim with tears as he saw Scorpius in the bed beside him, curled in his dad’s arms. Both asleep. Both peaceful. Scorpius looked fairly awful, but Albus had hope that it was only down to exhaustion and lack of food rather than injuries inflicted by Delphi.

He looked to his other side to see Tiago, also asleep, and he felt a feeling of relief wash over him. They had escaped. It was over. No one could hurt them anymore. And they would have each other to help them through the memories.

“What day is it?” he asked quietly.

“May tenth,” his dad said. “Monday.”

Albus slumped a little. It had been months. It had been over half a year. And now it was over. And he didn’t know what to do with himself. Maybe he didn’t need to do anything. Maybe he didn’t need to work out how to carry on just yet.

He didn’t want to talk to his family about what had happened. He didn’t want to recount anything. He didn’t want to answer questions. So he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know whether they wanted to talk or not. He didn’t know what he was supposed do.

“How are Lily and James?” he murmured. “Teddy said – Teddy said Lily…”

“Do you want to see them?” his dad asked.

“They’re here?”

His dad nodded, and then stood up, walking to the door and Albus watched, holding his breath as his siblings walked into the room. The world seemed to stop moving as he locked his gaze with Lily, and she broke into a wider smile than he could ever remember seeing on her face. Within seconds, she was at his bedside, and he pulled her into a hug, ignoring the throbbing pain as her hands brushed his back.

That didn’t matter. It didn’t matter how much he hurt. She was more important than him. And, as she clung to him with a similar ferocity that he’d had previously, he started to realise exactly how much of her brightness had simply fizzled out in his absence.

She felt somehow smaller than she had been when he had last hugged her, though he wasn’t sure what he could base that on. It had been too long. He rubbed circles around her back as she started to cry, trying to be a comfort. It was a mess. All of it was one big mess.

And then he looked up to see James had settled on the bed beside him, and he threw his arms around him. The three of them just stayed like that, hugging and crying and making sure they knew what reality was. Or that was what Albus did. He didn’t know what his siblings thought.

He could guess relief, but he didn’t have a firm enough grasp on the world to actually consider possibilities. But then again, he didn’t need to anymore. He didn’t need to measure exactly what the person was feeling so not to anger them, so not to die. Because he wasn’t in danger anymore.

He smiled.

* * *

When Scorpius woke up, his dad hadn’t moved from where he had been sat, and Scorpius was incredibly grateful. The room was more brightly lit than it had been, and there was a distinct chatter of people bustling around.

He looked over at the other beds, smiling as he saw Albus sat up in bed, talking quietly with his brother and sister. He looked happy. He looked more peaceful than Scorpius could have imagined him being and, as much as he wanted to talk to him, he didn’t move. Albus needed time with his siblings. Albus needed time with his family.

He, Scorpius, could wait. When it was partly his fault that they had gone through this, he could wait.

He knew that, had he actually put up a fight when Delphi had come for them, had he stopped Albus going to her, that they might have made it out. It wouldn’t have been unscathed, but it would have been in better shape than they were now. Someone would have seen the commotion and come running. Someone would have found them. Someone would have saved them.

Except then, the other boy would have died.

Scorpius sat up properly, attempting to be subtle in his movements as to not startle Albus, and glanced around. The other boy lay asleep in the furthest bed. Scorpius bit his lip. His mistakes had caused so much hurt. His mistakes had been paid for by Albus.

Albus. Albus, who he hadn’t seen for months. Whose screams had filled his cell day in and day out for reasons he never knew. Who had suffered too much for Scorpius to ever forget.

Albus, who had looked up to see him watching him, and smiled widely, starting to move to get to him. Scorpius made to stop him, but he didn’t need to, as Albus groaned and collapsed back, breathing heavily.

Scorpius swung his legs off the bed slowly, standing up and walking to Albus. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to do. So he just stood, until Albus took his hand and pulled him next to him.

He sat, wrapping his arms around his friend as tears started to pool in his eyes. They were together. They were alive. And they would be okay.

Scorpius took deep breaths, trying to remember everything he could about Albus, almost as a safety measure. As if, if he did, they wouldn’t lose each other again. 

“Hey,” Albus murmured. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” Scorpius said. “Are you – after what happened – are you…”

“They’ve patched me up quite well,” Albus smiled. “They said it’s going to scar, but I’m alive and it doesn’t really hurt anymore.”

Scorpius nodded, even though he didn’t actually know what had happened, keeping his arms wrapped firmly around Albus. He would never let go if he could help it. They could probably exist like that. They’d been close to it before.

He smiled.

* * *

On the second day, Albus felt well enough to move and, as Scorpius had not actually left his side since they had first reunited, he asked him to come with him on a walk. He didn’t want to go anywhere without Scorpius, but he needed to go outside of the room.

He needed to find somewhere a little smaller, a more crowded space. The room they were in was busy, but it was big. Lots of space. And Albus had only existed in three spaces for seven months.

In the small cell.

In the large hall.

And in total darkness.

He needed to get somewhere smaller, with his eyes open, and then he might be able to sit comfortably in a large space. Scorpius agreed to go on a walk and, after they had gotten permission, and accompanied by Draco, they wandered out into the hallway, decided on a direction, and then started walking.

They didn’t go far before both of them started to feel tired and decided to go back, but it helped Albus. He hadn’t said anything about why, simply saying that he needed to walk, but Scorpius did note that, when they returned, he was significantly more cheerful.

Albus smiled at him, and they settled back on his bed, hand in hand. They hadn’t yet talked about their relationship or anything that had happened, but Albus was avoiding it as a topic of conversation. He didn’t feel entirely to talk about any of what had happened.

He knew that he should, but he didn’t want to be the first one to say something. He couldn’t ignore that he was scared. But he didn’t want to confront the fear. He didn’t want to be brave.

He had been brave constantly for months. He didn’t want to have to keep that up. It was exhausting. All of it was exhausting.

Even the things he said he didn’t mind, he was scared of.

His scars, the knowledge that he would have scars, terrified him. He didn’t want a reminder of what had happened, even though he wouldn’t ever forget it. He didn’t want to think about them every waking moment. He didn’t want their presence to follow him like a ghost. But they would.

And the pain, the memories of the pain would never truly disappear either. Somehow, he knew that. It didn’t matter that he had been free less than a week, he knew that he would not ever forget the pain.

Maybe that was a good thing. He would undoubtedly end up in more situations where everyone hated him. He would undoubtedly have to endure further bullying from school peers. Maybe the knowledge that he could endure beyond anything they would throw at him would be help.

Or maybe it would push him over the edge.

He sighed and Scorpius looked at him, concerned. He shook his head, forcing a smile onto his face and lying back to stare at the ceiling. He could see the ceiling now. Another welcome reminder.

He looked up again as his dad sat down on the chair by his bed, fiddling with his sleeves. He looked nervous, almost scared, and Albus frowned. He had never seen his dad scared before. Not properly.

“Dad?”

“I thought you three would like to know what is happening outside of – here.”

Albus nodded, turning to see Tiago watching them anxiously. He beckoned him over, smiling at him as he settled beside the two of them already on the bed.

“So,” Harry continued, “you know we arrested Delphi. She’s currently in Azkaban, awaiting trial. There is no chance that she will walk free.”

“Do we – do we need to be at her trial?” Scorpius asked quietly.

“Not in person,” Harry shook his head. “Any evidence that you could present would further the case against her, but it isn’t necessary. The state we found the three of you in is more than enough to jail her for life. There was no trace of any other person in that place, and Teddy can act as a witness. No – you don’t need to be there.”

“Thank you,” Albus mumbled.

Knowing that he did not have to face Delphi again, never had to hear her voice, her laugh, settled something inside him. It was truly over. He could be vaguely at peace.

Or he could work towards that.

“If you give me a few days,” Tiago mumbled, “I could write down some of the things I – saw.”

“Thank you, Tiago. Please don’t put pressure on yourself to do so, though. Only if you feel able to.”

“I won’t get in trouble?”

“You were as much a victim in this situation as Albus and Scorpius. None of it was your fault.”

“Thank you.”

“There is something else the three of you deserve to know.”

“Dad?”

Albus’ dad had become incredibly quiet, and it scared him. He almost didn’t know what he had to say, but he had to listen. He had to know what was going on. He had to feel safe and heal. Even if was a slow process.

“We searched Delphi’s rooms when she first kidnapped you,” his dad said quietly. “We found, among other things, a motive.”

Silence.

“She is Voldemort’s daughter.”

Albus felt Scorpius stiffen beside him, standing up and starting to walk towards his bed. He shook his head when Albus made to follow him, and Albus looked back at his dad, silently begging for it not to be true.

He didn’t even understand why this made it worse. It just offered an explanation. But, for some reason, he felt sick with apprehension.

Voldemort’s daughter.

They had been kidnapped by Voldemort’s daughter.

Albus watched Tiago stand and walk away again. He turned back to his dad, biting his lip. His dad smiled sadly at him, pulling him into a soft hug. A silent promise. A silence that would speak a thousand words if he willed it to.

But at that moment, he begged it to remain silent.

* * *

Tiago wished that he hadn’t become obsessed with counting the days. He knew how many times the sun had risen since he had been kidnapped. He knew how many days, how many hours. And now he couldn’t seem to break the habit.

He’d thought, before, that he was waiting for rescue, or for some end to the torment. But now he wasn’t so sure. Because he couldn’t stop himself counting. Every day and hour and minute and second. It all became a number that he buried within himself, clinging onto in the hope that, maybe, someone would notice that he had come back.

In the hope that someone he cared about, someone who had cared about him before, would come.

They didn’t. And he was hardly surprised. Of the two or three friends he’d had, the likelihood that even one of them had stayed hopeful for his return was low. Too low for him to have any hope.

He assumed that the return of the Potter and Malfoy children would make the front page of at least one paper. People would know they were back. And Harry Potter wouldn’t stop any visitors looking to see him. He seemed like a reasonable person.

Several times, people had come in, telling him that he was needed to do something related to his work. And every single time he had told them that it could wait. Because his son was more important. He wasn’t a bad person. He wouldn’t keep visitors from Tiago.

Albus and Scorpius kept going on walks around the hospital and Tiago didn’t blame them. He understood wanting to get out of the room, especially after being cooped up in the dark for two-hundred and twelve days.

But he hadn’t. He had been all over that building. And now he was able to stay in one room, to have some autonomy over his actions.

On the fourth day, they asked him if he wanted to come on the walk with them, and he had refused. They hadn’t pushed him too far, though Albus seemed fairly keen. Tiago didn’t know why. He didn’t really know them. They had each other. He was just – just there. Recovering so that he could go to whatever home he had left and carry on with his life.  
“Are you sure?” Albus asked.

“Honestly,” Tiago nodded. “I’ll be fine. You guys go for a walk.”

“You shouldn’t have to be lonely.”

“I’m not,” Tiago lied. “And it’s nothing new. You guys go. I need to sleep anyway.”

That bit wasn’t a lie. He did need to sleep. He didn’t really understand why he was still so tired after four days of being able to sleep whenever he wanted. Maybe it had something to do with the lack of food he was eating, but he wasn’t hungry most of the time. It didn’t seem significant.

He lay back, turning away from them as he did so and wrapping his arms around himself. He didn’t want to think about how lonely he actually felt, how much he wished he could see his parents again, or even someone at the foster home that he likely wasn’t welcome at anymore, since he was well aware that the former wasn’t an option anymore.

He ignored the knock on the door, assuming it wasn’t meant for him. Someone else would deal with it. He just wanted to sleep and let the world melt away again. Where Albus and Scorpius seemed to have managed to begin their road to recovery, even though he was immensely happy for them, he had nothing. Nothing at all.

“Tiago?”

He ignored the voice. It sounded familiar, and he assumed that it was either Albus or Scorpius with one last plea for him to get out of bed and come with them. Who else would it be?

“Tiago?”

This time, he looked up, all but freezing to the spot as he saw who stood on the other side of the room. A tall boy. With beautiful brown eyes. Still wearing his green beanie.

“Craig?”

He started to stand up, more slowly than he would have liked, but since he had fallen into a habit of not using his limbs, everything was slow. It didn’t matter, however, because Craig stood by his side in a matter of seconds, before throwing his arms around Tiago, and the two of them sunk back onto the bed.

“You’re here,” Tiago sobbed into his shoulder. “You’re really here.”

“Of course I’m here,” Craig ran a hand over his head. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come sooner. I didn’t know.”

“You came,” Craig whispered, looking at him with a smile on his face. “You still care about me?”

The first smile he had even considered for months.

A smile that took no thought or force.

A smile simply because the person he cared about most in the world had come.

“Of course I still care about you,” Craig smiled softly. “I never stopped trying to find you. Wasn’t a lot I could do from Hogwarts, especially with OWLs. But I tried.”

“Thank you,” Tiago started to cry again. “Thank you so much.”

“You look exhausted,” Craig murmured. “Do you want to sleep?”

“I’m always sleeping,” Tiago shrugged. “And no. I don’t want to miss you.”

“Technically, I’ve finished my exams,” Craig grinned, “so it doesn’t really matter when you sleep. I’ve got no lessons to go back to.”

“And what happened to Mr. Responsible Prefect?” Tiago raised an eyebrow.

“He fell in love.”

“You’re such a cliché.”

“A cliché you fell for.”

Tiago chuckled a little, looking at his boyfriend for another second, before he leaned in to kiss him softly. He’d forgotten the feeling. And now he attempted to appreciate if for all it and he were worth.

They fell asleep together not long after.

* * *

The talk about school came on the sixth day. Albus and Scorpius had come back from their walk to find Tiago and Craig Bowker passed out on Tiago’s bed a couple of days previous. Tiago had been incredibly quiet since they had arrived, and seeing him supposedly happy like this made them both smile widely.

Now, they were all sat around the room and Albus’ parents and Draco were sat with them, looking a little apprehensive. 

“What’s going on?” Albus asked, somewhat nervous. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” his dad shook his head. “We’ve just – we were considering options for the three of you regarding school.”

“Oh,” Albus nodded. “Okay.”

“So,” his mum started slowly, “it’s May now. We don’t think that going back to school immediately is a good idea, especially as you’ve all missed the majority of this year.”

Silence.

“If the three of you started again in September, then you can retake the year, and everyone should be aware that you’re back by then.”

Albus thought for a moment. As much as he hated school, he did, sort of, want to go back. He wanted to get back to normal. He wanted to act like the shit that they’d been through hadn’t affected him. School was a good way to do that. School was a good way to fool the world into leaving him alone. And if he had summer, an extended summer, to start healing, he would be fine.

“Okay,” he nodded. “I’m – yeah – I could – Scorpius?”

“Probably,” Scorpius nodded. “I could try – we could.”

“That’s wonderful,” Albus’ mum smiled. “Take a bit more time to make a decision if you need it, and if it’s not okay, then we can consider other options.”

Albus nodded, smiling softly at Scorpius. Scorpius smiled back and, over his shoulder, Albus caught a glimpse of Tiago and Craig speaking quickly. Tiago looked terrified. Albus stood up and walked over to him, trying to think of something to say. The two of them looked up at him as he approached, not trying to hide what they were talking about.

“Are you okay?” Albus asked.

“Yeah,” Tiago nodded. “Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Love,” Craig said softly, “don’t worry about the summer. You can stay with me.”

“What if your family–”

“They will understand,” Craig said, “and if they don’t, you can still stay.”

“Are you sure?” Tiago bit his lip. “I don’t want to intrude or anything.”

“What makes you think you’re an intrusion?”

“I don’t know, I just…”

“Listen,” Craig said firmly, “they know I have a boyfriend. They know my boyfriend was in the muggle foster system. They know my boyfriend went missing. They won’t have a problem. And if you want to, you can come back to school in September and we’ll be okay.”

Tiago nodded, smiling a little. Albus and Scorpius walked away as the pair hugged, realising that they should probably offer some privacy.

* * *

Albus slammed the cupboard door, sinking down against the wall as he did his best to control his breathing. It didn’t really work, but the dark and closeness of the cupboard went some way to making him feel safer.

It also scared him, but the safety and warmth was more important. And the quiet. The quiet was necessary.

It appeared that Tuesday mornings in the hospital were busy, and the amount of noise had somehow doubled. Or maybe it was just him.

Either way, it was too much, and he had split from Scorpius and just run. And now he was exhausted, and unable to breathe properly. He drew his knees up to his chest, starting to rock back and forth as the fear set in properly.

The thoughts that he wasn’t safe. That he was in the dark again. That none of it was really over.

He screamed, trying to drown out the thoughts. It didn’t work. It didn’t help. It just made his throat burn, which offered some relief, but ultimately reminded him of everything that had happened.

Of watching Scorpius writhe and scream. Of hearing him beg for it all to stop. Of the feeling of blood pouring down his back. Of the knowledge that he would die there.

Except he hadn’t. He’d escaped. He’d survived. But it did beg the question of reality. Of whether they had truly escaped.

Or maybe it was just another fever dream and he would wake up soon, to find death and destruction and enough pain to kill someone.

He covered his ears, screaming again, as he heard a knock at the door. Not real. Not real. Not real.

Except the door opened and light spilled in and it wasn’t Delphi standing above him. Because she was gone. She was in Azkaban. She was never leaving. She would never get out.

It was Scorpius. Scorpius, who sank down beside him and wrapped his arms around him, rocking him back and forth. Albus started to sob, burying his face in Scorpius’ shoulder. If he held on, if he just held on for all he was worth, then maybe it would be okay.

Maybe he would remember that he was free. Maybe he would stop thinking that he was dreaming. Maybe it would be okay.

Once his breathing had started to return to normal, or rather, he was drawing in breath and the oxygen was actually remaining in his lungs, he sat up properly, looking at Scorpius silently. Scorpius swept back the hair that had fallen in his eyes, tucking it behind his ear, and Albus smiled a little.

“Thank you,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Scorpius said softly. “What’s going on?”

“Too loud,” Albus muttered. “And too – too open. Open is – is – _was _– bad. I just – the dark – I don’t know – I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Scorpius said. “I – I understand.”

Albus nodded, biting his lip. He still needed a little bit of time. Just enough to remind himself that open spaces were safe. He couldn’t relearn it quickly, but enough reminders might do the trick. Eventually, eventually, he could teach himself.

He looked at Scorpius in the half light, trying to work out the thing that he had to say. It had been a burning question in his chest for a couple of days, and he had never known when to bring it up. But now, now might be a good time. It was quiet and private and he felt vaguely safe.

He just wanted Scorpius to feel the same. He didn’t want to upset Scorpius. But he had to say it. He had to admit it to himself, and to the person it concerned.

“Scorp?”

“Yes?”

“Could we stay here for a bit longer? There was – something – I needed to talk to you about.”

“Okay,” Scorpius nodded. “Are you all right?”

“It’s about us,” Albus admitted. “Our – I guess – relationship.”

“Okay,” Scorpius said again. “What do you want to say?”

“I…” Albus forced air into his lungs. “I like you. I really, really like you. And when we first kissed, that was the best moment of my life. Those few hours, they were wonderful.”

“There’s a but.”

“Yeah,” Albus nodded. “I just – after this – I still like you. But I’m not ready to be – with – someone. I guess. I don’t really know. I just – I’m not ready for that. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise,” Scorpius said. “I understand. And I’m not upset.”

“You’re not?”

“I love you, Albus,” Scorpius murmured. “I truly, truly love you with my entire being. But I understand not feeling ready for a relationship now. We can put it on hold. We can come back in time. We can never come back to it. We can do what we think is right and what we need.”

“Thank you,” Albus smiled, tears starting to trace their way down his cheeks. “Thank you so much.”

“We have time,” Scorpius smiled back. “We have all the time we need. We can put it on hold for as long as we want. We can _heal_.”

Albus nodded, wrapping his arms around Scorpius again. The two stayed like that for a moment, and then Scorpius helped Albus to his feet. Albus nodded when Scorpius asked him if he was ready to go back to the room, and the two of them exited the cupboard.

Albus allowed himself to smile.

Despite everything, he would be okay. Because he had so many people in his life who loved him beyond unconditionally and he knew that he could rely on them.

He didn’t have to only rely on himself anymore. He could trust the people around him. He could learn to live again.

He could heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was the catch to my supposedly not slow-burned piece. They are separated, and then they break up. This was funnier on my end when I came up with it. Probably. I don't really remember. A lot has happened since then.  
So, posting this two days after Britain voted to instate the Dark AU, and I'd honestly rather live in the real one. @d3lphi, please smuggle me back to France with you when we meet.  
But no. I wanna write something vaguely sappy here.  
I came up with this at the end of summer, at vaguely the same time that @SunshineScorpius came up with Army of Angels and started to torture @RoRoWeasley and I with it. (by the way it's all online so go read it because it's so effing good). But anyway. Yes. I wrote this. I didn't do it by hand like I normally do. I did it entirely on this tiny laptop, and I wrote it in just over a month which is the fastest I've ever written. It was also some of the most fun I've ever had while writing, and I really hope you enjoyed reading it because there is a sequel coming as soon as I can get past chapter three. Literally halfway through that chapter and I've been there for nearly a week now. No. No. Going to get past that as soon as this is up. It's Friday (now) - I can stay up late and it will matter but I don't care at this point.   
In terms of the sequel, all I'll say is, I wrote an extract for an English exam and, while I did make it slightly darker than it will be for effect, I do think that extract would have gotten me referred to the school counsellor if I had not already been referred. So yes, the sequel is almost unnecessarily dark. But I'm going there anyway. It will feature lots of James being a great big brother, Lily being both happy and d*pr*ssed, and lots of gay bois.   
And Delphi.  
In one capacity or another, it shall feature this legend (don't come at me over this - I'm also writing something where she's Scorp's big sister and that's the headcanon stuck in my head now)  
Okay. I've gone off-topic.   
\---  
Basically  
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THANK YOU FOR READING THIS SHITSHOW  
Thank you for reading through all of this mess and enjoying it (hopefully) (I mean, you read 58,224 words for nothing if you didn't)  
Thank you for all the comments and kudos because they mean the world. Kudos emails come through on my break at school and I always get a smile from them, so thank you.  
\---  
I don't know when the sequel will get posted. I don't know how regular I'll be. Depending on how much money I have, I might spend a lot of Christmas in coffee shops. On the other hand, I've got to buy food.  
\---  
I don't know.  
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I'm sorry about this.  
\---  
Thank you for reading.  
Twitter: @evieadams273


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